Happy Mamma Earth Day :)

Mmmmmm, so it's the 40th anniversary of "Earth Day" today...how will *you* be celebrating your love of Mamma Earth...? I'll be getting out into our garden planting up lots more lovely veggie seeds... (the leguminous plants are already coming up and so far I've also planted melons, cucumbers, red peppers, tomatoes, nettles, spinach, tatsoi, dill, parsley, fennel, komatsuna, kale, borage, carrots, cabbage, celery root, endive, beetroot, lavender, cornsalad, green purslane and two kinds of salad leaf mixtures - VERY excited :))))
I was reflecting this morning on what I would do if I had access at this point of the game to limitless amounts of money - what would I do with that flow to best aid our planet...? The answer that comes for me is that I would use that money flow to buy up huge tracts of land, then give hectare parcels of land to whoever would *love* to be on that land, growing food, connecting to the Earth, co-creating eco-friendly dwellings and so on...just as outlined in the Anastasia books...this feels to me like it would be *such* a beneficial use of money energy at this juncture - to translate money into land energy, hand stewardship of that land over to those who would *LOVE* to be there and...see how we collectively flourish from there... I am willing to hold energy into that vision and certainly welcome anyone else to join me who sees the value of this possibility too... :))) Here's to Mamma Earth and all who love her :))))


On April the 18th I enjoyed:

1 quart water
water of 1.5 young coconuts
cup of sugarcane juice with lime juice
handful of grapes with a yummmmy cherimoya
2 cups greeeeeen juice with pineapple juice
2 cups greeeeeen smoothie with Mr. M, a delicious dragon fruit
2 cups water
little bowl of avo/banana 'pudding' with maca/ashwaganda/dulse
mug of reishi/shilajit/ormus tea
1 cup water


on April the 19th I loved:

1 quart water
water from a young coconut
slice of pineapple
1.5 cups greeeeen juice mixed with sugarcane juice
cup of greeeeeeeen smoothie: banana, mango, cilantro, lettuce, nettles
little handful of *amazing* home-made coconut 'jerky' strips - WOW :) ½ an avocado with dulse, lime juice and cumin powder
3 cups water
2 cups greeeeeeeen juice mixed with sugarcane juice
amzing Monarch masterpiece meal of some kind of fruity guacamole stuffed in lettuce leaves, with more coconut 'jerky' strips on the side :)
mug of reishi/shilajit/ormus tea
2 cups water


After the two recent raw-friendly festival round-ups I've posted, there's been a final little handful of event notices coming in this week - enjoy ;)

* April 29th * One Day Wood * Hertfordshire, England *

Join 14-year-old Francesca who is on a fabulous mission to plant a whole new wood in one day, with a little help from anyone who'd love to join in - see more at http://www.onedaywood.com.

* May 22nd * East Side Raw - Raw Party * London, England *

Join Kate Magic and other raw yumsters in London for food demos, live music, canapes, elixir shots and more: http://www.raw-action.net/?page_id=198

* August 1st to 22nd * Fruktifest 2010 * Brittany, France *

A 'free' festival celebrating fruits, prana and all things juicy...see all the details at http://www.fructivore.org

...and a little reminder that another wonderful place to see raw event listings is over in the 'Raw News You Can Use' section on Thursdays at The Daily Raw Cafe... ;)


on April the 20th I appreciated:

1 quart water
water of a young coconut
2 cups greeeeen juice mixed with sugar cane juice
2 cups pineapple/grape juice
water of a young coconut
fun shared picnic with friends: chia pudding with fruits, avocado with lime and salt, fresh coconut meat, dried Incan berries...
2 cups water
handful of crazy-yummy coconut 'jerky' strips: spirulina and curry flavours, followed by a beautiful red banana
mug of reishi/shilajit/ormus tea
3 cups water


on April the 21st I enjoyed:

1 quart water
2 cups pineapple/grape juice
slice of watermelon
2 cups greeeeeeen smoothie, handful of grapes
2 cups water
1.5 cups greeeeeen juice
bowl of yummmmmy green 'pudding': avocado, frozen mango, cilantro, lettuce, love
mug of reishi/shilajit/ormus tea
2 cups water

Mmmmmm, as some of you already know, a while back I initiated a raw-food-orientated 'OA/12 Step' list. This list is free for anyone to join and is aimed at those who are interested in both raw foods and 12 Step programmes, such as Overeaters Anonymous (OA). Recently some of the members of that list began holding weekly telephone meetings together on Fridays and they would love to invite any of you who feel drawn, to participate too. The calls are on Fridays at 12 noon Eastern time, 9am Pacific time and there is no cost to participate, other than any standard call charges you may incur. If you'd like to join in, the number to dial is 712-432-3900, then use access code 186262# when prompted. ENJOY :)

All love, light and bright blissings,
Angelalaalaaaaaaaaaaa. xxx

Visions of Vilcabamba :)

PHEWWWWWWW... WELL, what an AMAZING first day we have had here in Vilcabamba, Ecuador...I am feeling just blown away by the wonder of being here...cleeeeeaaaaaan, fresh air, outstandingly abundant flora, exotic birdlife, stunning mountains, AMAZING mineral-rich soil and food, blue skies, exotic flowers and scents...wow, wow, WOW :)
I'd like to share the day in some pictures...as I post this, Mr. M is also editing a little video from today to post to TheRawFoodWorld.tv, so you can check that out over there as well, to see us in action as we met our gorgeous land today for the first time :)))) WOW :))))

The view from the dining room of the hotel :)

The morning llama, outside our room ;)

on March the 26th I had:

1 quart water
2 cups rejuvelac
20 chlorella ‘nuts’
½ a papaya
a nori roll stuffed with avocado, red bell pepper, cucumber, mixed sprouts
3 cups water
an apple, a few brazil nuts
2 cups water
2 nori rolls stuffed with avocado, red bell pepper, cucumber, mixed sprouts
2 cups water

Mr. M checkin' out the trees...

on March the 27th I had:

1 quart water
bowl of YUMMY apple mush made by the Monarch – apples, cinnamon, tahini, goji berries, blueberries
30 chlorella ‘nuts’
a selection of pieces of gorgeous local fruits in Quito, including passion fruit, wild blackberry/mulberries, some unidentified type of sapote, wild peach, nectarine, dragon fruit
3 cups water
a dried raw food traveller’s meal – kale chips, crackers, Rawnola cereal
3 cups water

WOW ;O

on March the 28th I had:

1 quart water
plate of pineapple, papaya, passionfruit, peach
1.5 tbsp Greener Grasses powder
2 cups water
1.5 cups freshly made soya milk ;O
nibbles of things in the garden in Vilcabamba – parsley, mint, spinach, AMAZZZZZIIINNG raspberries, guavas etc
2 cups INTENSE green juice: alfalfa, celery, parsley, carrot
bowl of salad with flax crackers and almond butter, followed by a coconut snackaroon :)
3 cups water

Down by the Riverside...

Mr. M in contemplation on a piece of our plot...

YUMMMYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY :))))
Miss Stokes. (with cheeks that ache from smiling so much ;) xxx

Raw Food Gardening - Grow Your Own :)

WELL, after the Equinox on Friday, it truly feels like Spring is here now :) LOVING IT :) It also happens to be Mother’s Day here in the UK today:

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mummas :)

In honour of all this, I feel it’s prime time to get out in the garden, give gratitude to Mumma Earth and get planting some food for the coming months – which is precisely what you can see me and my mum doing in today’s episode of ‘The Raw Food World TV Show’ HERE.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3PIvCPwfG8

on March the 20th I had:

1 quart water
mug of pau d’arco tea
2 cups greeeen juice: celery, cucumber, fennel, parsley, ginger, lemon
2 cups energy soup with okra and tahini
mug of spicy teaaaaaa
3 cups water
½ a delicious pineapple
3 cups hemp milk with cardamom/cinnamon
1 cup water

While we’re on the subject of gardening, I was absolutely DELIGHTED to receive news from a couple of readers this week that it seems Michelle Obama is indeed starting to grow food on the White House lawns :) :) :) How wonderful :)
Remember in this post HERE a few weeks back, I mentioned the 'Eat The View!' campaign from Roger Doiron, to encourage the Obamas to grow food at the White House? Well, it looks like it’s all falling into place, according to these newspaper reports:

New York Times: Obamas to Plant Vegetable Garden at White House

and

MSNBC: First lady breaks ground on 'kitchen garden'

Local schoolchildren have been helping Michelle plant over 55 varieties of veggies and fruits, all raised organically :)

Check out some of these quotes from the articles:

“There’s nothing really cooler,” Mrs. Obama said, “than coming to the White House and harvesting some of the vegetables and being in the kitchen...and actually experiencing the joys of your work.”

“You can begin in your own cupboard,” she said, “by eliminating processed food, trying to cook a meal a little more often, trying to incorporate more fruits and vegetables.”

“Mrs. Obama led a cheer with the children, shouting, "Let's hear it for vegetables!" and "Let's hear it for fruits!"”

:O
It really seems there is a raw-friendly lightworker in the White House :) Thank you, Michelle... May your garden flourish and spread inspiration far and wide :)


on March the 21st I had:

1 quart water
mug of pau d’arco tea
½ a pineapple
2 cups energy soup with okra and tahini
3 cups water
3 cups greeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, fennel, endive, parsley, ginger, apple
½ an apple with 3 cups of hemp milk w/cinnamon/cardamom
2 cups water

...and it seems the inspiration and joy of growing food is indeed spreading rapidly at the moment – check out another article sent in recently by one reader – Lynn:

Dollars from dirt: Economy spurs home garden boom

You can read the whole article HERE. It’s an insightful and interesting look at the current movement to work with the land, in the wibbly economic climate :)
There are some very cool little stats in this article, such as:

* "The National Gardening Association estimates that a well-maintained vegetable garden yields a $500 average return per year. A study by Burpee Seeds claims that $50 spent on gardening supplies can multiply into $1,250 worth of produce annually."
* "Community gardens nationwide are also seeing a surge of interest. The waiting list at the 312-plot Long Beach Community Garden has nearly quadrupled -- and no one is leaving, said Lonnie Brundage, who runs the garden's membership list."
* "Seed companies say this renaissance has rescued their vegetable business after years of drooping sales. Orders for vegetable seeds have skyrocketed, while orders for ornamental flowers are flat or down... Harris Seed's Web site now gets 40,000 hits a day."

WOW :) I am SOOOOOOOOOO thrilled to see all these amaazzzzzing shifts...we truly are SO blessed :)

Well, I hope this has given you some inspiration to get out there and get planting, if you haven’t got anything in the soil yet this year ;)
ENJOY :)
All love,
Miss Stokes. xxx

Learning to Grow our Own Foods :)

OoOooo, fun things going on in Dr. Cousens' world: the Tree of Life centre has a wonderful-looking course coming up on how to grow your own food called 'Conscious Gardening'. It's being offered 4 times this year: March, May, August, October. I am so happy to see these skills being shared - mmmmmmm, I'd LOVE to be there for one of these courses... Wow, how wonderful - learning about organic/vegan/conscious gardening from a RAW/living food perspective - love it :) You can read ALL about the course HERE.
Dr. Cousens is also going to be sharing some good juicy juju in LA soon, at a week-long 'Juice Fast for Peace' in conjunction with the super-shiny Michael Beckwith and Agape. FUN :) That event starts on March the 1st and you can tap into all that info HERE.
BTW, remember too that those other fabulous-looking 'Anastasia'-based courses are coming up soon all over N. America as well...sharing info on how to set up your own 'kins' domain', grow food, co-create a family strongly rooted in nature and communication with the Universe and so on...I still strongly hope to make it to one of these workshops toooooooooo...you can see all about these HERE.
I am nearing the end of reading the 9th book in the 'Anastasia' series at the moment and the stories I was reading today of single women who are going out into the countryside in Russia to begin their kins' domains with their bare hands moved me to tears - the power, the passion, the vision, the love...it's all so beautiful...and it's just going to keep on expanding as more and more of us (re)connect to the land and grow our own foooooooooooooooooooooood...

WE. ARE. SOOOOOOOOOO. BLESSED :)

on February the 15th I had:

1 quart water
mug of dandelion tea
2 cups green juice: celery, zucchini, kale, endive, fennel, ginger, lime
2 cups energy soup with tahini and okra on the side
little mug of spicy tea
3 cups water
little bowl of sweet yum: hemp butter, carob powder, lucuma, maca, vanilla, cinnamon, water, with pieces of Grawnola stirred in :)
3 cups water


on February the 16th I had:

1 quart water
cup of dandelion tea
30 chlorella ‘nuts’
2 cups water
bowl of chia pudding with fresh cherries, chunk of Lemon Goji bar from LoveForce = YUMMM :)
3 cups water
2 cups greeeen juice: celery, zucchini, kale, endive, fennel, ginger, lime
2 cups energy soup with okra and tahini on the side
little mug of dandelion tea
1 cup water

A little reminder: I’ll be giving two talks over in the south–west of England next week. I’ll be giving a ‘Raw Food Transformation’ talk next Tuesday, the 24th in Glastonbury and then on Thursday the 26th in Barnstaple. You can check out all the details HERE and reserve your place by calling the lovely Lisa on 01769 550408, or sending her some love to: lisasture (at) toucansurf (dot) com.
Maybe see you there ;)
(As ever, if you’re looking for raw events in YOUR area, you can always check the wonderful events calendar on GiveItToMeRaw.com, HERE ;)



on February the 17th I had:

1 quart water
cup of dandelion tea
2 cups greeeen juice: celery, zucchini, kale, endive, fennel, ginger, lime
2 cups energy soup with okra and tahini on the side
little mug of dandelion tea
3 cups water
bowl of chia pudding with a chunk of Lemon Goji bar from LoveForce = YUMMM :)
cup of spicy tea
2 cups water


on February the 18th I had:

1 quart water
mug of dandelion tea
2 cups greeeen juice: celery, zucchini, kale, endive, fennel, Jerusalem artichoke, ginger, lime
2 cups energy soup with okra and tahini on the side
little mug of dandelion tea
3 cups water
2 cups greeeen juice: celery, zucchini, kale, endive, fennel, Jerusalem artichoke, ginger, lime
little bowl of chia pudding with fresh raspberries, diced apple and goji berry powder
big mug of fresh lemon/ginger tea
2 cups water

My musical muse has wandered backwards down the path a bit at present to the early 70s and has fallen rapturously in love with the late Minnie Riperton. WOW. What a BEAUTIFUL being. I have been listening to her music almost non–stop the last few days on YouTube ;) (Yes, I even have my own Minnie playlist now, HERE ;)
This new fascination expanded after that cheeky madam Ms. Kate Magic sent her latest ‘Love Mix’ over...(as you may or may not know, the talented Ms. Magic is a super–fine DJ as well as chef, mother, light–being, speaker, author, business owner, photographer, artist and myriad other creative outlets I’m sure ;) Part of this latest musical compilation was the 70s song ‘Les Fleurs’ by Minnie Riperton.
Now, I’ve heard this song a few times before – Ms. Magic says it’s one of her all–time top 5 toooons – I’d never paid that much attention to it though. This time I was listening with headphones and WOH...my whole body became covered in goose–bumps...what a VOICE, what a message, wow...I was captivated and have poked around all over YouTube unearthing old Minnie songs since then...sadly she died at the age of 31 from breast cancer in 1979 – she left behind some truly outstanding music though...she seemed to sing and express with her whole being and so much LOVE, smiles, passion, vibrancy and delight. TRULY someone on her brightest path in the short time she was here in the physical...and so very humble and sweet at the same time, aside from remarkably talented as a singer.
Minnie’s voice apparently covered a range of five and a half octaves and she could sing in the ‘whistle range’ – a rare talent for adult humans – she could easily hit those notes waaaayyyyyyy above high–C that others might struggle a lifetime to try to reach ;) She sounds almost like a DOLPHIN or something similar in many recordings – it’s really quite unearthly at times and just phenomenal to hear.
One of her best known recordings is the well–loved 1975 hit ‘Lovin' You’ (“...is easy ‘cos you’re beautiful and every day of my life is filled with loving you…” etc ;) – she hits the incredibly high notes in that song flawlessly and with ease...amazing...and I am blown away that I am only really accessing this woman’s work at this point in my life...
Mariah Carey, another singer whose work I love, has cited Minnie as the greatest influence on her singing style, which makes sense to me now, as Mariah has a range over five octaves and can sing in the whistle range too...
While reading about Minnie, I also came across the music of the Brazilian/Italian singer Georgia Brown who has been recognised as singing the highest notes recorded by a human. This woman apparently has a vocal range over 8 OCTAVES and can easily slide into the whistle range too – HERE is a truly ‘unearthly’ performance by her, singing a whole 2-minute song in the whistle range. She seems to have a very different energy to Minnie, yet I still find her talents remarkable... ;O
My heart swells as I listen to the legacy Minnie left behind – what a beautiful, inspiring woman...thank you SO much Minnie for the gifts you shared... :) Listen to my playlist of Minnie’s music HERE if you like – and wear headphones for optional extra spine chills ;)

All joy,
Miss A. Stokes. xxx

Seed Swap Excitement :)

Yesterday was SO FUN - I went to my first ever seed swap event :) 'Seedy Sunday' in Hove is apparently the UK's biggest seed swapping event and it certainly was a FEAST for my eyeballs when I walked in to see an entire hall of people with packets of hand-saved seeds, manuals for growing, compost bins, live plants and masses more...WOW, what a treasure trove - I felt like a giddy five year old... ;) You can see my little video about it on The Raw Food World TV Show HERE. I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo immeasurably, unutterably excited to get to our land and start planting... :) :) :)
I have this huge sense of awe about growing my own food (especially in SOIL rather than sprout bags ;) My mind chatters away: "...really, I really get to do that? that's legal? lol... where will I begin? how will I know what to do? what will happen?" etc etc - so much to learn and tap into and I trust it will all unfold with grace and beauty in its own time...'Anastasia' will be my primary guide for this journey - I tune into her energy every morning in meditation, send her gratitude for the vision she is holding for the world and I also send the energy of love to our land... EXCITING ;)
Google 'seed swaps' in YOUR area if you'd like to play this game too - I'd definitely recommend it :)
Oohhhh, yes, btw, many of you have been sending messages to say how much you LOVED watching the film 'The Green Beautiful' on YouTube, which I recommended in my last post - WELL, I'm delighted to say that I conveniently found a playlist for the whole film, so you can just click 'play all videos' and the whole film will run for you back-to-back in 9 sections - see HERE and enjoy - I loooved it too, especially the last 3 sections - WOW, it's so amazing to me to see some of the things we can do with these human bodies ;)

on Jan the 31st I had:

1 quart water
2 cups greeeeeeeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, fennel, cabbage, kale, local greens, alfalfa sprouts, Jerusalem artichokes, ginger, lime
2 cups energy soup with flax crackers and tahini
1 quart water
cup of homemade rejuvelac
mug of spicy tea
shot of wheatgrass
2 cups greeeeeeeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, fennel, cabbage, kale, local greens, alfalfa sprouts, Jerusalem artichokes, ginger, lime
1 cup water

On the subject of seeeeeeeeeeeds, I have 10 bags of our yummy chia seeds here in the UK that can be sent to anyone in the UK/Europe area (or beyond, if desired ;). They are £10 per bag (1lb/454g), plus p&p. If you’d love some, just email angela@rawreform.com and I’ll get my postal elf hat out again ;)
If you've never heard of or tried chia, you can read alllllll about it in the article I wrote called 'The Chia Cheat Sheet', which you can see HERE - it even includes 10 raw chia recipes :) We also have printed chart versions of the Chia Cheat Sheet available HERE.

on Feb the 1st I had:

1 quart water
2 cups greeeeeeeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, fennel, cabbage, kale, local greens, alfalfa sprouts, Jerusalem artichokes, ginger, lime
2 cups energy soup with flax crackers and tahini
1 quart water
40 chlorella ‘nuts’
2 outrageously ripe fuyu persimmons
bowl of chia pudding with hemp milk, lucuma, carob powder, cinnamon, vanilla, maca
2 cups water


on Feb the 2nd I had:

1 quart water
2 cups greeeeeeeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, fennel, cabbage, kale, local greens, alfalfa sprouts, Jerusalem artichokes, ginger, lime
2 cups energy soup with flax crackers and tahini
little mug of spicy tea
1 quart water
2 cups greeeeeeeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, fennel, cabbage, kale, local greens, alfalfa sprouts, Jerusalem artichokes, ginger, lime
bowl of chia pudding with hemp milk, lucuma, carob powder, cinnamon, vanilla, maca
2 cups water

THANK YOOUUUUUUUUU all for your lovely messages of love, health, support and vibrancy for Mr. M this last week – he definitely seems to be through the toughest part of this healing journey now – YAY :) Enormous gratitude to you all, for all the healing love that has aided his recovery.
While we’re on the subject of rehab with love, I came across this WONDERFUL little YouTube video on a completely revolutionary ‘eco–prison’ in Norway, where all the inmates work with farming/nature, live in houses (not cells), have minimal security, are treated with love and respect, are producing their own food, use solar panels for their power and are HEALING :) Absolutely LOVE it – so so soooo inspiring. These are not ‘petty thieves’ either – these are some of the ‘most notorious criminals’ in the country. THANK YOU so very much to Norway’s government for creating this space and thanks too for sharing this on YouTube :)

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

All love and joyous release,
Angela. xxx

Co-creating Home - in Vilcabamba, Ecuador ;O

Well, well, WELL...if you didn't hear yet from Mr. M's massive newsletter blast, our 'big announcement' is out in the world now, flickering about and seemingly catalysing even more exciting magic into being... ;)
Yes, we are very excited to share that we have become caretakers of some beautiful land in Ecuador, in an amazing-looking community of 'eco-preneurs' and we SO look forward to getting there, getting our hands in the mineral-rich soil, creating our 'kin's domain' and starting to groooooowwwwww all kinds of yumminess - yeeeeeeeeee-HAH :)))
Aaaaaaaaah, my deepest desires seem to be slowly manifesting into the physical :) For years now, the main thing I have always seen in my visions for my ideal life have been: land, yurt, growing food, community, raising children 'naturally', living with my beloved in a warm, sunny place...weeelllllllllll, ask (clearly) and the Universe certainly seems to deliver... ;) It may take its time - that's all part of the game though...which is of course still ever-unfolding...
For those of you who haven't seen anything about this adventure yet, HERE is a beautiful photo tour of the area, which you can see on Mike Adams' site NaturalNews.com. This photo tour was actually the first thing we ever knew of Vilcabamba and...it was love at first sight ;) We're so excited to get to this veritable 'paradise' of nearly year-round springtime weather (no need for heating OR air conditioning in housing), longevity, mineral-rich soil, clean air, pristine water, eco-communities, like-minded lovelies, abundant organic produce, sunshine and so much more... FUN :) I'm sure we'll be holding retreats and so on there at some point in the future, for y'all to come and play if you'd love to... :)
Incidentally, if all this is jingling some major jangles for you as you read and you'd like to come and play more permanently in the gardens toooooo, then you may be interested to know that we just heard this week of one prime plot on the property that has come up for private sale. It is a gorgeous river-side plot, about 4 acres in size, ideal for growing nutrient-rich food - if you're genuinely interested to know more, you can email me on angela@rawreform.com and I'll send you more details ;)

on January the 17th I had:

1 quart water
1 quart greeeen juice: celery, cucumber, endive, fennel, broccoli, kale, spinach, ginger, lime
20 chlorella tablets
1tbsp Vitamineral Green
1 quart greeeen juice: celery, cucumber, endive, fennel, broccoli, kale, spinach, ginger, lime
12 caps of Crystal/Blue Mannas
1 quart greeeen juice: celery, cucumber, endive, fennel, broccoli, kale, spinach, ginger, lime
2 cups water

On the subject of 'Placing Your Order with the Universe', I listened recently to a really sweet little 9 minute podcast by Erin Pavlina (wife of Steve Pavlina), where she shares an easy way to understand the 'Law of Attraction'. She explains so well how to let the Universe understand you clear intentions, through a little story she tells - short, sweet, succinct, useful - you can listen to it HERE if you'd like to flow with that...
Steve and Erin actually have a whole collection of wonderful podcasts like this - and WOW - these people have sooooo much to share - love it - you can tap into all of their free offerings HERE. Erin also recently finished a 30-Day raw food trial - you can read all about that on her blog HERE.

on January the 18th I had:

1 quart water
2 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, endive, fennel, broccoli, kale, spinach, ginger, lime
2 cups energy soup with flax crackers and tahini on the side
3 cups water
2 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, endive, fennel, broccoli, kale, spinach, ginger, lime
bowl of chia YUMMMM: soaked chia seeds in fresh hemp milk, stirred in cinnamon, vanilla, maca, lucuma and carob powders
3 cups water


on January the 19th I had:

1 quart water
2 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, endive, fennel, broccoli, kale, spinach, ginger, lime
2 cups energy soup with flax crackers and tahini on the side
3 cups water
2 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, endive, fennel, broccoli, kale, spinach, ginger, lime
bowl of chia YUMMMM: soaked chia seeds in fresh hemp milk, stirred in cinnamon, vanilla, maca, lucuma and carob powders
3 cups water

I shall leave you today with a yummy musical interlude that you may indeed perhaps have seen already, as it seems to be doing the email rounds at the moment ;) It's a version of the popular song 'Stand by Me', with a difference... It is sung by street musicians/buskers from all around the world, all synched together into one rendition - and it's beautiful :) It's from the amazing project 'PlayingForChange.com', which is doing outreach work based around music to connect communities all over the world. The footage for this one song alone was collected over many years, in many countries...check it out at the link below if you haven't seen it yet - it's had over 4 million hits on YouTube already, in just 2 months ;O

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM

ENJOY :)
All love and blissings,
Angelalalalalaaaaaaaaaa. xxx

Gorilla Food for All ;)

Hmmmmm...my recent trip to the totally abundant ‘Two EEs’ organic farm here in BC led my thought patterns down some interesting paths...my musings went smthg like this (bear with me ;):
My impression is that most people seem to have very strong emotional connections to food (as you’ll know if you’ve read my book ‘Raw Emotions’ ;) and many people seem to eat far in excess of their PHYSICAL body’s need for fuel. Visiting Two EEs farm helped to open a different perspective on all this for me, as I imagined how it would be if organic, loved-up, healthy food was available like this ALL OVER the place (inexpensively like here, or indeed, at no financial cost). I get the sense that if food was this abundantly available everywhere, people may relax a LOT more about where their food is coming from and ultimately may start also eating less, as there would be less of an underlying sense of ‘scarcity’ and much more of a connection to the food source.
My impression is that most humans are SO disconnected from their food supply chain at this point that this has created some kind of EXPECTATION that food comes from ‘somewhere else’ – i.e. it's grown by someone else, somewhere else. I sense that this ‘un-natural distancing’ of peoples’ relationship to their food source actually creates a feeling of stress for humans, that is unprecedented among the other animals (albeit at a subtle level perhaps, rather than smthg that is discussed or even recognised ;).
This ‘stress’ also seems SO widespread with humans as to be considered ‘normal’. It is ‘normal’ for people to work in jobs they don’t really enjoy, to be given pieces of paper (money), to take to a brightly-lit place where foodstuff has been collected together in various forms, where they exchange the pieces of paper for this ‘food’ and scurry on in the cycle, perhaps simultaneously fretting about the current cost of beans or smthg similar... ;)
I also sense that this ‘stress’ can contribute greatly to overeating issues for some, as any simple connection to food as readily available fuel has faded away. Rather than feeling surrounded by easy choices and abundance, there seems to be more of an underlying, subtle notion in the collective consciousness that food is in some way ‘scarce’ and something one is required to work in a system for, rather than simply collect and enjoy. I sense that part of the overeating patterns we can commonly see in humans is a response to this feeling that food is in some way 'restricted'/hard to come by...
Economics plays a huge part in over-eating too I believe. Most humans seem to be SO identified with money and if we PAY something for some food, there is often the feeling that we MUST then eat it. Whereas, if we were living surrounded by all kinds of edibles for free/very cheap all the time, we might well relax a lot more, plus let more food go back to the Earth without first passing it through our bodies. We would perhaps then feel released from any nagging feeling that we NEED to eat it...

When there is the possibility that this distant source of food from 'somewhere else' is dwindling (as with the current ‘food crisis’), people seem even more concerned abt who/where their food is coming from and the energy tightens even more. It is as if people don’t fully realise, or are unwilling to embody the reality, that they CAN feed themselves – they can grow their own food and eat it. The overbearing assumption seems to be that ‘food comes from somewhere else, it is smthg I BUY’...yet, doesn’t that seem odd, when viewed this way? No other animal approaches the basic need of taking in fuel for the physical body in this way...

Compare this way of life/relationship to food with the scenes described in the Anastasia books (if you’ve read them…;) In those books, we can read how people in the Siberian forest live simply, straight from nature, on nuts, berries and so on...There appears to be VERY little or no emotional attachment to food...then there are the fascinating sections outlining life on ‘kins domains’, where each family, settled on a hectare of land, is growing their own food. Imagine how much more relaxed EVERYTHING can be in that context, when people are happily living on a plot of land big enough to provide for themselves, while all around, they’re surrounded in all directions by other people who are living in equally abundant, lush garden properties...imagine going out for a walk and not feeling the need to bring a cooler bag of raw foods with you, because you KNOW there is fresh food everywhere, that you might be able to share ;) lol... We could contrast that with a ‘modern’ scene of two people living on the 30th floor of an apartment block eating tinned food and watching a news story on TV about the ‘food crisis’...hmmmmmm...which would YOU rather be living...? ;) I know where I’d like to be...and of course, even if you ARE in that 30th floor apartment right now, there are ALWAYS choices – sprout, grow sunflower/buckwheat greens, find an allotment/community garden to work in and so on...grow your own freedom and step away from any lingering paradigm of ‘scarcity’... ;)
Hmmmm, well, I hope that outpouring made sense/resonated for some of you, or jingled some jangles for someone out there... ;) LOL - feel free to leave comments/musings of your own... ;)

on September the 10th I had:

1 quart water
1 quart veggie juice: celery, cucumber, endive, kale, spinach, fenugreek greens, carrot, beet greens, beetroot
2 cups water
2 cups ‘energy soup’ with coconut chips stirred in and powerstix on the side ;) Followed by a little bowl of almond butter and lucuma powder mixed together – yummm
1.5 quarts water
handful of blackberries
3 cups water

on September the 11th I had:

1 quart water
5 cups veggie juice: celery, cucumber, endive, kale, spinach, fenugreek greens, carrot, beet greens, beetroot
2 cups ‘energy soup’ with coconut chips and half a yellow bell pepper on the side, followed by a little yummy bowl of hazelnut butter mixed with lucuma powder, maca powder and carob powder
2 cups water
big handful of fresh blackberries picked straight from the bushes :))
5 cups veggie juice: celery, cucumber, endive, kale, spinach, fenugreek greens, carrot, beet greens, beetroot
big handful of fresh blackberries picked straight from the bushes :))
2 cups green smoothie: peaches and spinach
1 cup water


For those of you in the UK who are seeking some inspiration for your raw culinary journey...I would whole-heartedly recommend you trot along to enjoy the company of the divine Lara and Shell at Manna in Brighton next Saturday (20th of September), for their ‘Raw Creativity’ Workshop :) You’ll learn lots of practical, useful skills and recipes to use as a solid foundation for your raw food explorations...those gorgeous lassies will be showing you how to prepare:

Best Ever Hummus/ Creamy Vegetable Curry/ Courgetti Pesto/ Very Berry Cheesecake/ Apple Pie/ Macaroons/ Gorgeous Goji Fudge...

Lara and Shell are truly sweetness incarnate :) They also make absolutely incredible edibles – some of you in the US may recognise Lara as the chef who provided food demos on a tour the Monarch and myself did a while back on the west coast :) Lara = hugs, glitter, turquoise things, big smiles, happiness, truth and simple, amazing raw food. I’ve honestly never eaten ONE dish made by Lara that I haven’t enjoyed – she’s amazing (she and her partner Matt ran the wonderful Funky Raw Festie in Sussex this year :)
You may also recognise Shelbel from her beautiful blog ‘therawkitchen’ and she also did a fantastic job of heading up the catering at Funky Raw this year. My summary is that Shell = more big smiles & happiness, clarity, sincerity, giggles, lush gardening and some of the most DELECTABLE raw cakes you’ll ever get your gnashers at...
So, check out their website HERE: www.therawkitchen.co.uk for more details of the event on Sept the 20th, from 11am-5pm at Manna Café in Brighton and...enjoy :)



on September the 12th I had:

1 quart water
1 quart veggie juice: celery, cucumber, kale, spinach, carrot
raw ‘falafel’ and ‘peach cobbler’ at Gorilla Foods in Vancouver – YUM ;)
1 quart water
plate of raw potluck food: zucchini spaghetti lasagne, wild rice salad, fresh garden salad and some freeze-dried durian for dessert ;)
3 cups water

On September the 13th I had:

1 quart water
1 quart veggie juice: celery, cucumber, fenugreek greens, spinach, romaine, cilantro, carrot
2 cups energy soup with coconut chips stirred in and flax crackers with sunflower seed dip on the side, followed by a little bowl of hazelnut butter mixed with lucuma powder, maca powder and carob powder – yummmm ;)
3 cups water
1 quart zucchini juice
little bowl of hazelnut butter mixed with lucuma powder, maca powder and carob powder
2 cups water


WOW – we visited the new Gorilla Food raw restaurant in Vancouver, BC yesterday – YUMMMMMY :) It is AMAZING to see the beautiful space Aaron Ash has created here now...when we were visiting the area last year, Aaron was enthusiastically serving his delicious raw creations from a literal hole-in-the-wall in downtown Vancouver (see pics, courtesy of Ellen ;). From one room (probably about 4 x 6 ft), he was serving up raw pizzas, smoothies, cakes, burgers and so on, through a window onto the street ;) LOL...it was very cosy and a great stepping-stone onwards to the GORGEOUS place he’s now in.
LOVE it...the new venue is just a few doors up from the last, on the same street and is a colourful basement area fitted out with beautiful wooden décor. Paintings by local artists hang on the walls, the room bustles with satisfied customers and the young, gracious staff fulfill orders with love and smiles, to a chilled soundtrack of reggae music. Yummy ;) We enjoyed the falafel and burger, along with peach cobbler and a supreme cacao/hemp pie for dessert.
It’s SO delightful to see how this business has blossomed in the last year – all blessings to Aaron and the rest of the Gorilla team for the journey onwards from here...
If you’re in the Vancouver area, Gorilla Food is actually taking orders for our talk next weekend – NICE :) If you’d love to come along to the event and have some delicious munchies to enjoy too, then please contact RawBC via EMAIL or by phone: 778-737-8852 for more info ;)
See you there...

All love,
Angela. xxx

Raw 'Nutella' Anyone...???

OooOooo, here’s an exciting offer from the Monarch, which those of you on the ‘Insider List’ will have seen already ;)
(If you’re not yet on our ‘Insider List’ already, to get notified with the full details whenever we have very special offers on, you can message Mr. M HERE and he’ll add you to the list ;)
Ok, here’s a little treat he has for y’all right now...

“I ordered a mass of the 'Better Than Roasted' sprouted nut butters for our 'at cost' sale a couple of months back and we still have some available. The expiry dates for these supremely nutritious, sprouted nut butters are anywhere between December 2008 and March 2009, which of course means they’re all still in great condition ;). I’m now offering them at an even lower price than before, to move them out of the door. Prices start at I wouldn't pass these BEST TASTING Nut Butters up!!! Enjoy!!! CLICK HERE to order."

The eight yummy flavours on offer are:

Pine Nut Butter (my favourite)
Hazelnut Butter (my 2nd favourite ;)
Macadamia Butter (Manna ;)
Brazil Nut Butter (good for selenium...)
Apricot Kernel Butter (amazing nutrients)
Black Sesame Tahini (more amazing nutrients)
Sunflower Seed Butter (sunny yummy mush)
Pumpkin Seed Butter (Mmmmm, omegas ;)

MmmmMmMmmm, while we’re on the subject of these nut butters, I would LOVE to share with you one of the YUMMIEST recipes we’ve discovered to enjoy them with, so far... Ready...? ;) We take the liquidy, yummy smooth hazelnut butter and mix it in a little bowl with our straight raw carob powder (plus maybe a little lucuma for an extra-sweet treat ;). That’s it – hazelnut butter and carob powder = WOW :O
I don’t know abt you, but when I was transitioning from a ‘cooked’ life into being raw, carob products were a MAJOR part of my journey ;) Vegan, sugar-free carob versions of more well-known, mainstream chocolate/hazelnut spreads were a daily staple for me. Now I feel like I’m able to re-create that smooth, gorgeous gooeyness with RAW ingredients – WOW – HOW blessed we are :) LOVE it...
So, you can get stock up on nut butters and carob HERE if you like (...if I don’t get to the warehouse before you, that is... ;)

on August the 26th I had:

1 quart water
mug of ‘choco’ tea
2 heaped tsps wheatgrass powder
3 fresh figs
3 cups water
shot of wheatgrass/ginger/lime juice
1 cup celery, cucumber, parsley, endive, fennel, garlic juice (PHEW ;)
2 cups ‘energy soup’ with coconut chips stirred in, followed by a little bowl of durian ice cream and pieces of raw chocolate – WOW ;)
mug of ‘choco’ tea
1 quart water

By now, those of you in the US will surely have heard of the plans to start irradiating greens such as spinach and lettuces for sale in stores...hmmmmm...yes...(or if you haven’t read about it yet, pls click HERE to get informed). Needless to stay, this is clearly reason more than EVER to get your hands in the soil and start to GROW YOUR OWN FOOD, if you’re not already...you don’t need masses of land to supply yourself with a gorgeous, healthy, year-round crop of vibrant leafy greens. You don’t in fact even need a GARDEN – you can grow in abundance in an apartment if necessary ;) Check out books like ‘Square Foot Gardening’, The Sproutman’s Sprout Book, fill your window boxes, plant out in pots – whatever works for you...the time is NOW ;)
ENJOY... :)

on August the 27th I had:

1 quart water
mug of ‘choco’ tea
2 cups veggie juice: celery, cucumber, radish, ginger, fennel, endive, lettuces, carrot
2 cups ‘energy soup’ with coconut chips stirred in, followed by a little bowl of durian ice cream and pieces of raw chocolate
mug of ‘choco’ tea
1 quart water
1.5 cups veggie juice: celery, cucumber, radish, ginger, fennel, endive, lettuces, carrot
2 cups ‘energy soup’ with coconut chips stirred in, followed by half a packet of freeze-dried durian and pieces of raw chocolate
mug of ‘choco’ tea
3 cups water

Did you see the latest RawReform Prize Contest yet? If not, here come the details... ;)
OoOoooo, you're in for an informational download TREAT ;) The prize this month is a shiny new copy of 'SunFood Living' by John McCabe, an amazing raw food resource book with info on numerous other related topics too...NICE :)
To be in with a chance of winning this encyclopedia-style, worldwide raw resource book, just send in your answer to the following question:

'If you could live anywhere in the world as a healthy, happy raw foodist, where would it be and why...?'

Send your answers in to angela@rawreform.com before September the 21st...and the winner shall be chosen at random and with blissful breathing sometime thereafter... ;)

ENJOY :)
We LOVE you,
Angela. xxx

Re-forming Our World :)

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

Favourite Chia Recipe...?

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

Gas-guzzlers, Greens and Gardening...

WOW. We watched ‘Who Killed the Electric Car?’ a couple of nights ago. WOW. If you haven’t tapped into that info yet, I’d recommend it – I was pretty amazed at what I absorbed from this documentary. I thought it was really well-made – in general, a documentary about cars is not likely to hold this gal’s interest for that long – THIS one I found fascinating though...I would summarise it thusly: about 100 years ago, pretty much everyone had electric vehicles, if they had one at all, in the US. Then ‘gas’ vehicles started to be introduced and took over (kind of like some people have electric ovens and some have gas ovens ;). In more recent years, primarily due to environmental concerns, car manufacturers started to create electric vehicles again, with greatly improved performance – fast, ‘flashy’, ‘green’, ‘clean’ (compared to gas-guzzlers), cheaper to run and so on. GREAT solution all round, right? Yep...unless you’re part of the petrol industry of course... So, basically, all the new electric cars that had been made got rounded up like some kind of pest and literally CRUSHED by car-crushing machines, left to rust up in car graveyards. :O ??? ...and so, the electric car was effectively snuffed out again...at least at the time this documentary was made... Quite extraordinary...imagine the time, energy, money, effort and resources that went into creating all those cars, that were then just scrapped almost immediately. Well...the documentary fortunately also turned the spotlight onto new solutions at the end too – from ‘hybrid’ vehicles, to the next generation of electric cars and so on – I would be fascinated to know more actually abt what has happened SINCE this film came out, as I’m sure this controversy must have had a big impact on many people...as for me, I thought this was a really well-made piece – it was informative, funny, upbeat, well-structured and thought-provoking...I’d definitely recommend it if you haven’t seen it yet...you can see more abt it HERE if you’re interested... ;)

Ok, double-whammy food log time, peoples:

on April the 9th I had:

1.5 quarts water
2 cups celery/cabbage/lettuce/carrot juice
2 handfuls of fresh figs and 2 apples, all from the orchard here
1.5 quarts water
1.5 cups celery/cabbage/lettuce/carrot juice
meal of mung bean sprouts, pumpkin seeds and wakame seaweed fronds all munched merrily together
1 quart water

on April the 10th I had:

1.5 quarts water
3 cups watermelon/orange juice
3 cups celery/zucchini/cabbage/lettuce/carrot juice
1 quart green smoothie: peach/apple/spinach/parsley/sprouts/dandelion, with goji berries swirled in for chewability ;)
1 quart water
cucumber yum bowl: grated cucumber mushed with avocado, mixed sprouts, finely diced onion, karengo seaweed, served in lettuce leaves
1 quart water

THANK YOU for all the yummy feedback that has been coming in about my latest YouTube outburst ‘Green Leaves’ ;) I know some of you had issues opening the links to the song from the last blog post – apologies for that – here it is as a simple link you can hopefully all use: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz1Uu_r5ROA.
Remember too that you can always see ALL my videos on the RawReform ‘channel’ on YouTube – that can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/rawreform.
‘Green Leaves’ even got its first review, courtesy of Ms. Blaqberry over at Hi-Rawkus.com, who said:

“Here’s another beaut from Ms. Stokes that’s sure to make you smile! I found myself giggling with delight at her absolutely creative lyrics focused on the importance of greens. This tune will be hummed a lot, methinks. I’ll admit that I can imagine myself singing a bit (possibly even a doing quick twirl) while prepping my next green meal. Yes, really. [laugh] How about you?”

THANKS :) You can check out that whole post HERE.

on April the 11th I had:

1.5 quarts water
3 cups watermelon/orange juice
3 cups spinach/celery/parsley/cabbage/sprouts/carrot juice
a cacophony of cracao – UH-OHHHH ;) hemp seed/cacao brownies, butters and trail mix = whacked out of all balance for rest of day, in loved-up, blissed out, cracao-land ;)
1.5 quarts water
3 cups watermelon/orange juice
½ a watermelon
1 cup spinach/celery/parsley/cabbage/sprouts/carrot juice
1 tbsp wheatgrass powder
3 cups water

on April the 12th I had:

1.5 cups water
3 cups watermelon/orange juice
3 cups hardcore green juice: dandelion/spinach/mixed sprouts/celery/zucchini/carrot
handful of fresh figs and persimmons from the orchard
small amount of cracao brownies and spread
1 quart water
2.5 cups hardcore green juice: dandelion/spinach/mixed sprouts/celery/zucchini/carrot
meal of mung bean sprouts/wakame seaweed/pumpkin seeds, followed by a few more bites from the cracao monster ;)
1 quart water

I’ve been pottering muchos in the garden here the last few days and LOVING it – even if I am not yet on a piece of land that feels like ‘my motherland’, I can still nurture someone else’s – especially as after all, ultimately, it’s all the same thing ;) Yes, in response to the question many of you have been asking, the garden in the background of the ‘Green Leaves’ video is the place we’ve been taking care of for the last 2 months – it is divine and we leave in a few days ;( Time to shimmy onwards...in the meantime, it’s been a real blessing to get my hands in the soil here and connect a bit more the last few days – and synchronistically, one reader – Marie – sent in this lovely little article abt the benefits of gardening, which really spoke to me – enjoy ;)

-----------------
Healing Benefits of Gardening
by Melanie Waxman

Exercise - Muscles are developed through digging, lifting and raking. Walking, weeding and mowing provide aerobic activity.
Connecting to the earth helps us to be in the here and now, and to get grounded. Best of all, the enjoyment and focus of working and creating in the garden makes exercise easy.

Stress relief - the serene beauty, sights and smells of the garden are relaxing, calming, can lower blood pressure and inspire meditation and reflection.

Structured learning - gardening stimulates the mind on a daily basis and is considered one of the top three "excellent mental workouts".

Improved Self-esteem - The hard work and dedication in the garden provides a great sense of accomplishment and increased self-esteem.
There is nothing more wonderful than watching your labor transform into flowers, fruits, and vegetables brimming with vitality. Experiencing all the aspects of the growing season provides a great sense of creative achievement.

Social Interaction - Gardening is a marvelous group activity for the whole family as all ages can participate. Harvesting the delicious fruits and vegetables give gardeners the opportunity to share them with friends and neighbors.
April is a great time to get started in the garden. Even if you only have a small space or a balcony, gardening can be enjoyed with containers and pots. I encourage everyone to have a go and harvest the benefits on all levels.
-----------------

One love,
Angela. xxx