Input, please... ;)

Thanks for all your kind messages about the crazy rains here... ;) It was amazing actually – as soon as I wrote about it all, it stopped – we woke up today to a sunny day :) It was like someone up above had forgotten to turn off the tap (faucet) and then realised... ;) I guess I’ll put the build-your-own-ark kit back in the garage for now then ;) As a result of the sun making a welcome return, today was also outlandishly humid here, as the heat evaporated up lots of the moisture we’ve been sitting in for days. The air was so thick it felt challenging to even breathe at times, let alone eat much and our appetites dramatically fell away…mainly liquids and fruits all day…I also noticed that masses of mushrooms had grown up all over the place when I went out for a walk in our area – I guess damp, dark and muggy are ideal mushroom conditions and they’ve been thriving, while everyone else has been grumbling... ;)

on January the 4th I had:

1.5 quarts water
big slice of watermelon
1 pint mizuna/tatsoi/romaine/bok choi/kale/radish/cucumber/fennel/celery/arugula/red chicory leaf/carrot/apple juice
bowl of soaked dried figs blended with hemp seed, with dried apricots dipped in raw tahini on the side – yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
3 cups water
big handful of cherries
1 pint mizuna/tatsoi/romaine/bok choi/kale/radish/cucumber/fennel/celery/arugula/red chicory leaf/carrot/apple juice
slice of watermelon
3 cups beetroot/cucumber/apple juice
1 cup water

I grabbed the opportunity to wash our clothes today while the sun was here to dry them – everything’s been damp or dirty…or both…for the last week or so ;) Now we have shiny, happy, dry clothes again and in the process I realised I’d never got round to writing here about the laundry ‘soap’ we use...why would you want to know about laundry soap, you may be wondering...well, this ain’t no ordinary soap, m’dear...in fact it’s a product I’m REALLY excited about in terms of the potential global implications for sustainability and reducing pollution. We’ve been using ‘Maggie’s Soap Nuts’ - the only laundry soap that grows on trees :) Yes, quite remarkably, these ‘soap nuts’ are simply the dried fruit of a tree – the Chinese Soapberry tree. These lychee-like fruits contain ‘saponin’, a natural cleaner used for thousands of years to clean clothes, like the plants used by Native Americans for washing. You just put a few of the soap nuts into a little cotton sack which they come supplied with and drop it in your laundry. The saponin ‘soaps up’ during the wash and your clothes come out clean, vibrant, and soft. I have truly never used anything for washing clothes that leaves them feeling so ‘silky’ and…loved. :) I think they’re amazing. They’re also obviously totally biodegradable, as well as re-usable and hypoallergenic. How exciting is THAT??? Your clothes, your skin, your family, and your planet will thank you for using them :) I love them so much that we’ve started to sell them in the RawReform Store and have them in various pack sizes, from a sweet little trial size pack of a handful of ‘nuts’ to 200 load tubs. You can see more about them in the store HERE.

on January the 5th, I had:

1.5 quarts water
big slice of watermelon
1 pint mizuna/romaine/fennel/radish/cucumber/celery/kale/bok choi/arugula/red chicory leaf/carrot/apple juice
bowl of fenugreek and lentil sprouts stirred with diced tomatoes and a bit of tahini, with another little bowl of straight sea spaghetti and sunflower greens on the side. Homemade dessert of a little bowl of tahini mixed with raw honey and cracao powder – chocolate halva – yummmmmmmmmmmmmm :)
3 cups water
slice of watermelon
1 pint mizuna/romaine/fennel/radish/cucumber/celery/kale/bok choi/arugula/red chicory leaf/carrot/apple juice
big handful of outrageously gorgeous cherries
2 cups water

I’d like your opinion on something, please. :) I’m going away on silent retreat this Tuesday, for 4 days. I’m very excited. This is something I’ve been wanting to do for many years and it has never quite flowed with schedules and locations...it seems now is the time... ;) So... where do you fit into this? Well, I’m going to be completely out of communication while I’m on retreat – no email, no blogging, no phone, no talking even...and in my absence, Mr Monarch has volunteered to take over writing the RawReform E-Journal (as a guest writer this time, rather than monkey-ing his way in... ;) Soooooooo, whaddaya reckon? Do you wanna read more musings from the Monarch for a few days? I’ve made a little poll on the RawReform site where you can easily register YOUR opinion before Monday. That seems democratic to me...it’s you who reads here, after all... ;) So, click HERE or on the poll picture to register YOUR vote. :) Just scroll down a little on the RawReform Homepage to see the poll on the right hand side... Thanks :)

One love,
Angela. xxx

E-book Packs and Coconut Cracks...

De-de-de-de-de-de-deeeeeeeeeehhhhh ;) You asked, we boinged into existence: by popular request, we’ve created discounted e-book packages of Mr Monarch’s books and my own…you can see them HERE. The starter package includes one of each of our bestselling titles – my ‘How to go Raw for Weight Loss’ and Matt’s ‘Raw Spirit’ and the deluxe package contains all 6 of our book-babies ;) ENJOY :)

On August the 28th I had:

1.5 litres water
600ml warm water with lemon juice
700ml green juice with carrot
500ml water
small salad – kale, avo, sauerkraut, dulse, lemon juice, tomatoes
slice of leftover chia pie
500ml rooibos tea
1 litre water
small greens/hemp seed salad with sea salad, barley grass crackers and tahini spread
chunks of barley grass fudge, raw halva and dulse chocolate – WOW
700ml choco tea
1.5 litres water

Someone wrote today asking how to open young coconuts – here’s a GREAT LINK by RawGuru Alex (with a video demo)…incidentally, if you’ve got a GREEN young coconut (or orange for that matter) and you’re wondering what the square-ish looking white ones are all about, they’re exactly the same – they’re just green or orange nuts which have had the coloured husk removed, leaving the softer white layer underneath…inside THAT is the hard brown layer which if left to get ‘old’ is like the older cocos you see in supermarkets and so on…those are much easier to open for most people, as there’s no husk left anymore and you can just poke holes into two of the three ‘eyes’ on the top of the coconut and pour out the liquid…hope that helps ;)

on August the 29th I had:

1.5 litres water
150ml orange/grapefruit juice
double shot of wheatgrass
handful of strawberries
½ a large papaya
2 fresh figs
500ml water
1 tbsp green powder
cup of rooibos tea
½ avo, romaine lettuce, one red pepper, 3 tomatoes, handful of Japanese seaweed, sauerkraut
handful of mulberries
½ large papaya
1.5 litres water

On the subject of coconuts…THANK YOOOUUUUUUU, oh dear ones, for all the spectacular entries so far for this month’s RawReform Prize Giveaway.
To remind those of you who may still yet enjoy to send in YOUR entry, the yummies at Artisana have supplied a BLISSFUL prize…on offer is a 5-Jar Sample Pack of their amazing coconut-based products:

Coconut Butter, Cacao Bliss, Goji Bliss, Amazon Bliss AND Coconut Oil...

WOW…thanks guys ;)
To be in with a chance of winning, simply send YOUR answer to the following question to angela@rawreform.com:

What is your favourite raw recipe that involves coconut?

This could include any kind of coconut product – the young Thai coconuts, old brown coconuts, coconut butter, coconut oil, coconut flakes – whatever does it for you ;) Just email us with your recipe and you just might be the lucky yumster drawn at random next week to receive the sublime Artisana package – yeeeeeee-HAH ;)

One love,
Angela. xxx

'Urban' Raw Foodism...

MMmmmmmmm, yumminess abounding…have you been listening to the free Raw Summit calls…? Hope you’ve enjoyed the sharing so far – I’m impressed with it – I think Kevin’s such a great interviewer – I love how he delves into stuff that doesn’t always get covered in interviews – a rare talent ;) Tomorrow night (Wednesday the 15th) is Matt Monarch’s talk (yay;) then mine, somewhat appropriately, the day after, on Thursday – hope you can make it along for the calls. Remember too that if you miss the calls when they air (8pm EST each day) you can still listen to them FREE for the following 24 hours, until the next call goes out…if you are still yet to sign up, or want to read more, click HERE…enjoy ;)

On August the 12th I had:

1.5 litres water
500ml rejuvelac
tiny glass of orange juice
big glass of amazing courgette (zucchini) juice, followed by lashings of green ‘garden’ juice with apple
bowl of ground chia seed blended with banana and mulberries
bits of raw chocs and treats, sprout/greens salad with tomato sauce, apple pie and herbal tea at a raw potluck
2 litres water

We manifested such a bargain today – a Breville Juice Fountain Juicer for £1 ($2) at a car boot sale (like a big swap-meet/garage sale with many vendors in one field, selling things from the trunks of their cars) :O…wow…we’ve been using the tiny little random centrifugal juicer I bought my Dad years ago for the past few days…the Juice Fountain feels like SUCH an improvement – we are so blessed – we’d been talking about buying a new one for the house, then while out jogging, found ourselves at a huge sale, where the juicer sat waiting for us near the entrance…the Juice Fountain is one of those amazing juicers with a HUGE hole for the produce, so we can literally juice whole apples in one go – much less chopping involved – almost none in fact – it’s SO fast…I love it…see HERE for more info on them...we’ve been juicing whole giant courgettes (zucchini) – if you’ve never tried that juice straight, I’d highly recommend it – it is so smooth and milky – yummmm…

on August the 13th I had:

1.5 litres water
300ml rejuvelac
tiny glass of orange/grapefruit juice
800ml veggie juice
big bowl of salad with greens, dulse, sprouts, red pepper and flax seed/tomato dressing
400ml rose/chamomile tea
500ml water
500ml courgette (zucchini) juice
3 peaches
sprinkling of spirulina sticks
bowl of ground chia seeds blended with apple juice & bananas, swirled with mulberries and pine nuts
2 litres water

I was speaking with Rob from Funky Raw the other day and he said he no longer buys greens – he picks all his own – and he lives in CENTRAL LONDON – now, that is SO inspiring for me as a raw-foodist-forager-wannabe…imagine…freshly picked wild food is SO much more vital than shop-bought/days-old/limp/ produce that’s possibly been flown many miles…even if it IS organic ;) It strikes me often that most of what’s going on with the raw food movement at the moment seems so 'urban' – it’s recipe books and appliances and beautiful restaurants and so on – rather than foraging and getting your hands dirty and composting ;) Well, it is what it is…I know for me that my heart and body resonate a lot more towards simplicity though, in my truth…and tuned-in foraging skills would be SO exciting to me…hmmmmm…Rob says he’ll be heading up some foraging walks at the Funky Raw Festival which starts on August the 22nd, near Portsmouth...nice…more details HERE…

One Love,
Angela. xxx

Vegging...out...

Alright kiddies, this is your last chance to get your paws on a $10 gift voucher for RawVeganBooks.com – the RawReform giveaway prize for July…somehow it got to August already, so the next newsletter will be out very soon…if YOU want to be in with a chance of winning, just email you answer to the following Q to angela@rawreform.com:

‘What strategy would you recommend for raw foodies to handle mainstream social functions like dinner parties and business meetings?’

Thanks for all the wonderful ideas sent in so far…and if you haven’t entered yet, please do send in your fabulous tips. The winner will be drawn at random and announced in the next RawReform newsletter...(which you can subscribe to HERE if you don’t already receive it ;)

On July the 30th I had:

1 litre water
shot of wheatgrass juice
tbsp wakame flakes
handful of goji berries
2 persimmons
2 tbsps sunflower seeds with wakame flakes
1 litre water
3 persimmons
½ tbsp greener grasses powder
500ml green juice with apple and fennel
avo/dulse/tomato/lemon/spinach/romaine wraps
avo blended with lucuma powder and maca, with sultanas swirled in
400ml spice tea
1 litre water


Thanks to the lovely Jenny for this reply regarding the ‘pickling’ request…
“…for any summer squash or cucumber varieties, I slice them like dill spears or bread and butter rounds and fill mason jars, then add apple cider vinegar, a spoonful of raw honey and a bit of celtic sea salt and/or other pickling spices like dill or mustard or coriander seed, and some cayenne or paprika to make them spicy, and fill the rest with water, then shake it up- if the honey isn't melted, keep shaking every so often. . . and keep let it sit at room temp for awhile or keeps indefinitely in the fridge (i'm not exactly sure how long as they never last very long!!!) These taste so much better and more fresh than store bought white vinegar pickles and the variations and possibilites are quite endless!!
hope this helps. . .
xx jenny”

Mmmmm…sounds yummy, enjoy ;)


On July the 31st I had:

1.5 litres water
3 golden kiwis
500ml green juice with apple and fennel
avo/romaine/spinach/dulse/tomato/lemon juice salad
Cacao balls
1 litre water
2 fresh corn-on-the-cobs
box of blueberries with a head of romaine and some dried figs
500ml water
500ml rose/chamomile tea
1 banana, 1 tsp greener grasses
500ml water

On this evening I had a delightful ‘chance’ encounter with an old school friend I haven’t seen in about 10 years…WOW…fun…those of you who have heard me speak will know that this has been, for me, one of the more entertaining aspects of my transformation with raw foods - seeing people I haven’t seen for a long time and watching their freaked reactions as they realise it’s me ;) This particular lovely laydee was my best friend for a number of years when we were around 10 years old…I happened to be in my town of birth, very briefly, for literally about 30mins this evening – went into the supermarket I used to gorge myself in daily as a teenager, this time to pick up some fresh organics and there she was, standing next to the bananas…wow…I LOVE the way the universe works…I was really happy to see her, called out her name and went to hug her…while she stood looking confused, trying to ‘place me’ in her memory…well, after all, last time she saw me I was likely around 250lbs (18 stone)…it ‘clicked’ for her after a while and she realised it was me…she was SHOCKED to see my new appearance and very happy for me – she’d seen my website in recent years and thought it was all amazing…sweet ;) I love those encounters – great reminders for me of where I’m coming from...

One love,
Angela. xxx

Getting Connected...

If you could ask me ONE question, what would it be…???

I have an exciting event to announce – on Sunday August the 5th at 6pm EST, I will be doing a FREE, LIVE teleconference call with Chef Dan of Quintessence in New York…FUN ;) You can listen in free from wherever you are in the world by phone or through the internet and the really cool thing is that you can enter questions in a special box on that page, which Dan will ask me during the call…– the details are all on this special page HERE...so get your thinking mittens on and drop us a line… ;)

On July the 22nd I had:

1.5 litres water
bag of cherries
1 litre green juice with apple and lemon
½ box baby spinach leaves
1 litre water
small glass of aloe vera juice
exciting broccoli salad with shredded cabbage, sliced peppers and zucchini, dulse and a garlic/basil/avo dressing
Square of pistachio halvah cake left over from Live raw restaurant with cacao balls
500ml peppermint tea
1 litre water

Hmmmm…apparently some of you have been trying to send emails to the ‘@rawreform.com’ email addresses the last few days and they’ve been bouncing straightbackatcha…apologies…we are in the process of shifting servers at the moment and some mischevious jiggles seem to have been rippling through the site as a result…hopefully all is suitably de-wobbled now for your emailing pleasure...you can also let us know via the alternative address 'rawreform at hotmail dot com' if all else seems hopeless... ;)

On July the 23rd I had:

1.5 litres water
800ml green juice with apple and ginger
3.5 big apricots
bowl of chia soaked in rejuvelac and aloe vera juice with a mashed banana, lucuma powder, mulberries, figs, maca and spirulina
cacao balls
1 litre water
800ml watermelon juice and a few chunks of watermelon flesh
stunning kale salad with tomatoes, avo, dulse, lemon juice and arugula
1 litre water
500ml peppermint tea

It was shown to me, in meditation this morning, the bizarre point that many people do not even ONCE during the course of a day TOUCH THE EARTH WITH THEIR SKIN…no WONDER so many in our societies seem ‘disconnected’…just think about it…we walk on concrete and tarmac, sit in cars or on bikes, wear layers of fabric or plastics to separate our feet from the ground…we are literally out of physical connection with the planet…I would love to encourage that first thing in the morning, ESPECIALLY in the summertime when it’s warm, you go outside and connect to the earth with your physical body – stand barefoot, or lay on the ground and greet the sun, breathe deep, listen to the birds and other sounds, do some yummy-feeling stretches, set your intentions for the day, give gratitude, smile and do what you can for those few moments to keep your attention in the present – not in the past, not in the future…just right there, on your little patch of ground, right NOW ;) If you’ve just woken from a night of sleep, consider that you’ve been away from this physical body and this physical planet for a number of hours – take this little opportunity to ground yourself back in here on waking – you’re about to spend the next 16 or so hours here, most likely, so how about starting it off with a smile and a gentle, loving reconnection…? Enjoy ;)

All love,
Angela. xxx

Wild Things...

Hellooooooo, I do hope all you Americans have been enjoying some wonderful (raw) Independence Day celebrations today ;)
I’ve had a fun time – I just gave a raw food talk here tonight in Canada for the first time in abt 5 weeks and it was great to speak again with a large crowd…I feel so immersed in raw foodism these days, I forget how many people are still new to this path – it’s exciting to share with people for whom this is all totally fresh…wow...it's amazing to think that we've become so accustomed in our societies to consuming denatured, processed things, that many humans struggle to even conceive of eating 'only' raw foods...how curious we are as a species...sometimes I look at the essence of what a lot of my work these days entails and it seems a little absurd - all it really is, after all, is telling people to eat food that comes directly from nature...I don't believe such events happen among cheetah or antelope populations, for example... ;) they do not seem to need meetings to remind each other what is most beneficial to them to eat...yet we humans seem to have wandered so far from the 'wild' path that we can definitely use a reminder and some support here and there...

On July the 4th I had:

1.5 litres water
600ml cucumber/celery/fennel/lemon juice
box of raspberries
500ml water
bowl of soaked chia seed with bananas, lucuma, goji berries, pinch of salt
500ml water
box of cherries
3 tbsp hemp seed and bee pollen
box of strawberries
bunch of red grapes
1 litre water

I am SO into red foods at the moment…look at this list today – raspberries, gojis, cherries, strawberries, red grapes…full of iron, energising, grounding –plus these are all low glycemic, aside from the grapes…I LOVE it…yesterday I also forgot to say that I foraged some fresh berries on a hike - mmmmmm...some very yummy different red and black berries...plus some wild greens that had my third eye chakra POUNDING...wow...it blows me away everytime - the difference in the power I feel from fresh-picked wild foods, compared to shop bought greens...completely different voltage ;)
One reader – Dana – sent in some great feedback abt the ‘toilet talk’ from yesterday: in her bathroom she has a sign that says: "Do not flush unless you have a SOLID reason" and she uses ‘a double thickness plastic zip-loc bag filled with water as a "hippo".’ NICE…thanks for sharing, Dana ;)

All love,
Angela. xxx