Is There an Optimal Timeframe for Eating...?

One day recently, we got up at three in the morning, to go on a day-trip to Peru...it felt *very* odd to me to be awake at that time, on 6 hours or so of sleep...odd and disorientating...I'm not sure the last time I was awake at such an hour...and one thing that was very clear to me at that hour was how totally inappropriate food seemed to be right then...my body had been awoken from its cleansing cycles and there was a slight sense of nausea...the idea of eating anything at that point sounded like bodily abuse...
What all of this highlighted for me was that there seems to be a definite timeframe each day where eating seems to be 'appropriate'...in my reality, that timeframe is something like 9am to 5pm, to feel best...which is interesting to me, as that is the exact timeframe many people do 'jobs' in our societies...so, rather than fuelling their physical bodies optimally in the timeframe that might be most appropriate, people might instead be stuffing down some cereal or toast at 6 or 7am before they rush off into traffic, then gobble down some sandwiches for lunch at 12 in between meetings, before arriving home at 6 or later, drained from the stresses of the day, wherein they turn to the fridge and cabinets for solace and end up eating themselves into a spaced-out oblivion before bed time...hmmmmmm, well, maybe this pattern doesn't resonate for everyone - I surely would hope not - I do suspect it is quite a common current reality though...
For anyone currently living this kind of pattern who may be excited to create a different reality, Paul Nison's "Daylight Diet" book/dvd/audio might be interesting for you to explore...eating the 'heaviest'/densest meal of the day in the middle of the day definitely makes sense to me...and being up at 3am definitely doesn't... ;)

Blessings to all our patterns :)

on May the 18th I enjoyed:

1 quart water
1.5 cups watermelon juice
20 chlorella tablets
2 cups greeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
water of a young coconut
2 cups greeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
2 cups greeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
2 cups greeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
3 cups greeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
cup of greeeen/apple juice
2 tbsp bee pollen
mug of reishi/shilajit/ormus tea
1 cup water

One reader in Minnesota, Jill, would love to let y'all know that she has two used juicers looking for a new home...there is a Champion Juicer on offer and a Juice Factory Juice Press (which she describes as "2nd only to the Norwalk" - I've never met one of these - sounds interesting... ;) Jill is based in MN, yet could send them elsewhere if their new home is further away...the asking price is $450 for both OR $200 for the Champion, $250 for the press...if this speaks to you, you can contact Jill via her wbsite contact form, HERE - enjoy :)



on May the 19th I loved:

1 quart water
water of a young coconut mixed with marine phytoplankton and chocolate extract drops
2 tbsp bee pollen
2 cups greeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
bowl of granadilla seeds, a cherimoya
avocado mushed with sauerkraut and dulse, stuffed into nori sheets, followed by two incan berry bliss balls
2 cups water/honey/lime
glass of superfood smoothie at Cafe Cosmos, ½ a papaya
mug of reishi/shilajit/ormus tea
1 cup water


Another reader in the US, Christine, the "Raw Priestess" also just sent in some home-made dehydrator tips for y'all... ;) In my last newsletter I mentioned a few home-dehydrating ideas and Christine stepped up to take it to the next level, sharing her home experiments with drying foods in the damp climes of the Pacific NW, without Excalibur's helpful trays ;)
Here are Christine's tips for y'all - enjoy:

1. Put your item to dry near a stove/woodstove, firepit/fireplace and turn often, if you add a ceiling fan to the mix it really helps. (I use this in the winter, when my woodstove is already on, as I don't like to use much electricity.)

2. Use a hair dryer on the lowest setting in a cardboard box (with holes in the lid), (works surprisingly well).

3. Use any kind of fan in warm weather to dry out most items, to crisp it up, use some external heat source with the fan; if you use in a contained area, such as a cardboard or wooden box, it will help, make sure to leave vent holes in the top of the box, to release excess moisture.

4. Use a warm pizza stone, or rock -- I use this while camping, I use warm rocks to dehydrate crisps, cookies, crackers, etc. A pizza stone also works, and is flat, and easy to keep the right temperature, you can also set these on top of a wood stove, elevated on a metal rack, and it is very easy to dehydrate things, make sure to keep watch on the temperature.

5. Place items in a cardboard box, lined with tin foil, have some holes in the top of the box, to allow for moisture to escape, put this in the sun.

6. Use a green house, place flat mesh trays in your green house with the vents open, turn on the fan, and allow the sun to dehydrate your items.

All of these work in Western Washington where we have very humid areas, if you are in a drier climate, these ideas could work even better.

We don't have super hot days, so our green houses, and foil lined boxes don't get too hot, people in hotter dryer climates, may wish to put those items in the shade, or use shade cloth to keep the temperature down a bit.

Hope some of these suggestions are of help to those who do not choose to use a dehydrator!

All blessings,

Christine, RawPriestess.com

GREAT, thanks for sharing Christine :)

All love,
angelalalaalaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaastttttttooooookkkeeeeeeeeesmmmmmooonnnaaaaaaaaaaaarch. xxx

Top Juicer Recommendation?

We just chose at random the winner of the last RawReform Giveaway Contest, to win a signed copy of my book ‘Raw Emotions’. CONGRATULATIONS to Dianna Banzhaf, who sent in the following answer to the question ‘What is your TOP suggestion for handling food cravings?’:

“I like to do deep breathing. I count to 10 SLOWLY. And breath deeply. I then try to regain focus by doing a kundalini yoga trick by closing my eyes and focus at the brow point or ''third eye'' and if that doesn’t do the trick then I add the words Sat Nam. While inhaling I think ''Sat'' and while exhaling I think ''Nam''. It means true identity. Usually this helps me to be in the moment and remember my self and not be ''attached'' to what I think I am or ''need''.
And then of course if I still feel that I actually need a similar food, there is usually something amazing available in one of my raw cook books or ready for picking in nature that will cure it.
P.S. Thanks for the opportunity and I love all the great information you give. It is such raw love and support exuding from you both. Have a wonderful wedding and life together."
Dianna Banzhaf

THANKS Dianna – your book is winging its way to you – enjoy :) …and thanks to everyone who entered this contest – this was the biggest contest we’ve ever held in terms of entries :) I will pull out a collection soon of some of the other top suggestions sent in and post them here for everyone to enjoy :)

on June the 2nd I had:

1 quart water
big greeeeeeeeen salad: mixed leafy greens, baby tomatoes, dulse, avocado, salad dressing (almond butter, pumpkin seed butter, ACV, lemon juice, cumin powder, water), with a few flax ‘chips’ on the side, followed by a handful of Rawnola cereal
1 quart water
2 green apples with a few big handfuls of freeze–dried durian
2 cups water
30 chlorella nuts
2 cups water

OoOoOOooo, while we’re on the subject of Raw Emotions, me feeling pleased: Rory Freedman, author of the best–selling ‘Skinny Bitch’ book just read ‘Raw Emotions’ and sent over this glowing endorsement:

"Angela Stokes' journey is a beautiful miracle and she shares it so generously and articulately in Raw Emotions. Intuitive, insightful, and enlightening, this book gets to the heart of the matter in a way few 'diet' books do. It will definitely change your view on food." Rory Freedman – www.skinnybitch.net xoxoxo

Thanks Rory :)

on June the 3rd I had:

1 quart water
30 chlorella ‘nuts’
big greeeeeeeeen salad: mixed leafy greens/herbs, tomatoes, dulse, avocado, salad dressing (pistachio butter, black sesame tahini, ACV, lemon juice, cumin powder, water), with a few flax ‘chips’ on the side, followed by a handful of Rawnola cereal
1 quart water
big luscious bowl of fruit salad with carob/lucuma sauce: fresh raspberries, blackberries, cherries with freeze–dried durian pieces and a rich carob sauce made with: carob powder, lucuma, vanilla, cinnamon, water
1 quart water


There were suddenly a lot of messages from people recently asking for juicer recommendations – I guess there’s a flow to get juicier for summertime – nice ;)
I thought I’d give some general guidance about juicers here from my perspective, in case others out there have similar Qs at the moment...

In terms of great all-round juicers...it really depends what you're looking for; top of the range in most cases is going to be the Green Star or a similar twin–gear juicer. Green Stars cost abt $400 new and make very high quality juice that will keep well for abt 24 hours or more, if kept refrigerated in sealed mason jars. Twin gear juicers leave dry pulp, are great with leafy greens and are ok in terms of cleaning.
Otherwise, if you want smthg easier to clean/quicker to use, then probably the Breville Juice Fountain would be for you. The Juice Fountains are centrifugal ejection juicers and cost about $150. The feed chute for the produce is BIG, meaning you can fit whole apples in, for example, without cutting them up (saves time on food prep). The pulp comes out quite wet though and you often get unjuiced leafy greens with these kinds of juicers – they work better with things like celery, cucumbers, carrots etc than leafy greens. The juice oxidizes quicker with centrifugal ejection juicers, so it’s best to always drink it immediately. We recommend passing both the juice and the pulp through a nut milk bag, to get all the fiber out and squeeeeze more juice out of that wet leftover pulp ;)
For many people, the Norwalk Juicer is the ultimate choice. These hydraulic press machines produce juice of the most outstanding quality and the juice stores well for up to 72 HOURS in sealed jars in a fridge. Norwalks are very heavy, a little ‘clunky’ to use and cost around $2400 – no juicer compares though in terms of juice quality.
In the end, the best juicer for you tends to be the one you're actually going to USE ;) A juicer sitting in a dusty kitchen cupboard isn’t much help to anyone’s health ;)
I hope that helps...

All love,
Miss Stokes. xxx

The Spoon-Licker Cometh...

WELL...as I write this, there are just 10 days until Christmas...looks like we’ll be enjoying a MeXican–shaped X–mas this year...we don’t have a Christmas tree or any decorations...we do have a lot of cacti though and a semi–adopted puppy called Barbados who likes to ‘decorate’ our floor with gifts of her own and chew the cacti ;) I’ve never toilet–trained a puppy before – hmmmm, it’s quite some task, eh? ...it’s SO rewarding though to see how she’s starting to get the hang of it more and more ;) I somehow hadn’t envisioned myself spending quite so much time here in Mexico clapping and cooing at the excretions of a canine...well, the Universe has its own peculiar games to unfold of course ;)
Incidentally, did you know that in Iceland there are 13 ‘Santas’? They come down from the mountains one per day during the days preceding Christmas Eve and they have rather unusual habits...today for example was the day for ‘spoon–licker’ santa to make his appearance...I think you can guess what his passion is...his other compadres include sausage snatcher, window peeper, door sniffer, candle beggar, pot scraper and door slammer...hmmmmm...who would YOU invite to your Holiday parties...? (btw, the mother of the 13 santas is called ‘Grýla’ and apparently she eats babies...) You can read all about the exploits of the unconventional Icelandic santa crew HERE.


on December the 13th I had:

1 quart water
2 apples with 3 tbsp Sproutein powder
2 cups energy soup with okra and kale chips on the side, followed by an almond crunch bar
mug of spicy tea
2 cups water
1 quart greeeen juice: celery, cucumber, broccoli, kale, romaine, asparagus, dandelion, ginger, lime
an apple and a pomegranate with 2 tbsp Sproutein powder
2 cups water

I would like to share here a very simple, beautiful little concept that I received in an email recently:

The best way to multiply happiness is to divide it.

LOVE that...sooo beautiful...how might YOU help to multiply the community happiness factor today? Smile at a stranger? ‘Random’ act of kindness? Gift to a loved one? There are so many ways we can share...and everything positive we share like this is radiated back to us manifold over – we are SO blessed...

on December the 14th I had:

1 quart water
little cup of spicy tea
2 tbsp sproutein powder
2 cups energy soup with okra and kale chips on the side, followed by an almond crunch bar
mug of spicy tea
2 cups water
3 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, kale, fennel, romaine, dandelion, ginger, lime
1 tbsp bee pollen
2 cups energy soup with kale chips on the side, followed by a little yumm bowl of hand–mixed almond butter/lucuma powder/maca/carob powder/dried pomegranate seeds
little mug of spicy tea
2 cups water

on December the 15th I had:

1 quart water
3 cups veggie juice: celery, cucumber, fennel, dill, kale, carrot
2 tbsp Sproutein, 2 tbsp bee pollen
2 cups energy soup with kale chips on the side, followed by a little bowl of hand–blended yum: almond butter/lucuma powder/carob powder/goji berries
little cup of spicy tea
2 cups water
15 chlorella tablets
2 cups greeeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, fennel, romaine, ginger, lime
1.5 cups energy soup with kale chips on the side, followed by a mixture of chia pudding and leftover blended sweet yummy stuff from lunch
2 cups water

Here’s a juicy question that came in recently from Kelly...
“Hi Angela, when you juice, do you use a juicer? Or do you make it like on juicefeasting.com using the vitamix and nutmilk bag? do you think you lose significantly more nutrients when using the vitamix/nutmilk compared to juicing with a juicer?”
Kelly

Thanks for your Q Kelly :). Well, at this point in time, we are in Mexico and we're using a Breville Juice Fountain juicer - we make the juice, then also squeeeeeeeze the pulp through a nut milk bag, to get LOTS more juice (we tend to get at LEAST another 16oz that way we find ;O... )
When we're in the UK, we have a little twin gear Kempo, Mr. M also has a Norwalk juicer in the US and when we’re travelling in other places/staying with other people, we use whatever is available – so, we use different things depending on where we are...
Yes, the juice definitely oxidises a lot faster when using a vitamix/nut milk bag combo OR when using a centrifugal juicer too - twin gear juicers or Norwalk juicers are the best choices, if you're looking for nutrient value and the potential to make juice ahead of time and store it in a fridge ;) The Vitamix/nut milk bag combo is GREAT though for ease and if you're going to drink the juice quickly ;)
Hope that helps...

All love,
Angelalalalalaaaaaaaaaa. xxx

A Time of Love...

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? In the streets, snow is glistening…well, not here in Australia actually…yet with some of you though I hope… ;) WOW…what a magical time this is…Solstice, Hanukkah, Christmas and all sorts of other yum-fests and reflections occurring worldwide simultaneously and under the loving gaze of the Full Moon in Cancer…how blessed we are :) Wherever you are and however you may be enjoying this ‘Holiday’ period, I send you bountiful wishes of joy, upliftment and peaceful unity…
Here’s a little of what astrologer Lisa Dale Miller shares about this full moon:
http://astrowisdom.com/thisfullmoon.htm

“This is the Full Moon to swim in the unbounded ocean of love that connects us with the rhythm of life and all other sentient beings.
This is that once a year when the Full Moon is posited in the astrological sign it rules, making the force of love and trust so abundant that the heart just naturally opens.
Make this a “get real and get committed” Full Moon: a Moon for setting an intention to love yourself and others even through the hard times. Cancer rules emotional healing of all kinds and this is the Full Moon to make an effort to bring love back to all your relationships; especially between family members.
This is the Full Moon to stop and really appreciate our loved ones: to fully embrace them, look deeply into their eyes and let our hearts soar in the recognition of oneness. It is also a great Full Moon to do something wonderful for the primary caregiver in your family.
Cancer’s greatest gift is the consideration of the needs of others over our own needs. To help others and relieve suffering is strengthening for everyone: to disregard others, only weakens oneself.”

Mmmmm…what a fitting end to the major moon cycles of this year :) To check out Lisa’s full account, see HERE.

On December the 23rd I had:

1 pint water
‘The Cleansing Drink’ #1
= 8oz water, 2oz apple juice, 1 tbsp liquid bentonite, 1tsp psyllium powder
Followed by 10oz water mixed with 1tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1tsp raw honey
1 pint red chicory/spinach/mizuna/all-kinds-of-greens/carrot/daikon/radish/celery/apple juice
‘The Cleansing Drink’ #2
1 pint cucumber/apple/mizuna/red chicory/celery/spinach/all-kinds-of-greens/carrot/daikon juice
‘The Cleansing Drink’ #3
1 pint beetroot/cucumber/apple/ginger juice (YUMMMMMMMM ;)
‘The Cleansing Drink’ #4
1 pint 1 pint red chicory/spinach/mizuna/all-kinds-of-greens/carrot/celery/apple juice
‘The Cleansing Drink’ #5
2 cups water

Here’s a quick question that came in a couple of days ago as a blog comment:

“When you make a green juice, Do you put it in a Vitamix and then nut milk bag? Why do people do this? It seems like the hard way to me...Please help!”
Laura

Hmmmmm…thanks for the Q, Laura…my current answer is that I do not use a Vitamix to make juice. We use a twin gear juicer – examples of which you can see HERE. When I was Juice Feasting this time last year, I did often use the Vitamix/nut milk bag combo however, as I didn’t have a good juicer on hand at that time in Costa Rica and actually also found it a lot easier and faster to use the blender anyway. Using the blender is MUCH faster in comparison to a quality, twin gear juicer – both in terms of food prep time (no need to cut veggies small to fit in juicer hole), machine use time and time spent cleaning afterwards. The downside is that using the blender/nut milk method leaves you with a less high-quality juice, which oxides faster and has often been mixed with a little water. HOWEVER, many people are still happy to choose the blender option, when the time/cleaning benefits are considered. Now, in comparison to the speed of using, for example a Breville Juice Fountain of course, the blender/nut-milk bag method may seem clumsy and pointless. The amount of liquid you actually get out of the produce when using something like a Juice Fountain though is less than using a twin gear OR the blender method, if you’re thoroughly squeezing the contents of the nut milk bag that is ;) Personally, I prefer to always use a nut milk bag to double-strain juice anyway, even if it’s from a twin gear, as there is always SOME pulp left in the juice and I want it as obstruction-free as possible… Hope that all made some sense – there are advantages and pitfalls to all the methods described – it just depends what suits your lifestyle and choices best… ;)

On December the 24th I had:

1 pint water
‘The Cleansing Drink’ #1
= 8oz water, 2oz apple juice, 1 tbsp liquid bentonite, 1tsp psyllium powder
Followed by 10oz water mixed with 1tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1tsp raw honey
1 pint red chicory/spinach/mizuna/all-kinds-of-greens/carrot/daikon/radish/celery/cucumber/apple juice
‘The Cleansing Drink’ #2
1 pint red chicory/spinach/mizuna/all-kinds-of-greens/carrot/daikon/radish/celery/cucumber/apple juice
‘The Cleansing Drink’ #3
1 pint tatsoi/bok choy/cilantro/cucumber/apple juice
‘The Cleansing Drink’ #4
1 pint tatsoi/bok choy/cilantro/cucumber/apple/orange juice
‘The Cleansing Drink’ #5
2 cups water

So, today has been the 7th and final day of my Psyllium-Bentonite Cleanse. It’s been a great experience overall. I’ve released a LOT of old dark nasty stuff from my intestines and my energy has been pretty good throughout. Compared to my energy levels when I first did a cleanse like this, abt 4 years ago, my energy levels this time were superb ;) Back then I was almost incapacitated – I spent most of the week in bed. I’d only been raw for about a year at that point – and abt 70% raw, not fully raw like I am now, PLUS, I’d never done any colon cleansing at that point, so it was all very new to me. This time round I’ve been very functional in comparison ;)
I’m definitely excited to get back to eating solids tomorrow though and not be doing full-on enemas twice a day ;) Very different to the end of my Juice Feast back in February – as you may recall, I was not at all excited to get back to solid foods back then. Watermelons are just looking so appealing to me to EAT now though :) Tomorrow is Christmas Day here and I intend to celebrate my Christmas gift to myself of a freshly cleaned out system by gently mono-mealing on melon :) YUMMMMMMMMMM… Would I do a cleanse like this again? Yep...not for a good few years again though, if at all - it's a pretty hardcore process...

If YOU want to enjoy a cleanse soon, after the usual ravages of this season, do take a look at what Steve at Raw Vegan Radio is up to – he’s hosting the ‘Biggest Group Cleanse, EVER’, starting on January the 7th for 21 days, with tons of online support through e-books, podcasts, webinars and more…you can see all about it HERE. (Worth taking a look, if only to see Steve’s before and after pics – WOW – I’ve never seen his 'before' shot before – pretty impressive transformation… :)

Blissful Holidays to All :)
Angela. xxx