Join Us For New Year's Eve :)

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

* 5-6x/week yoga classes

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

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

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

* 1x/week Qi Gong class

* 7x/week Evening programs/Meditations

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

* Native American medicine wheel, teepee

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

* New Year's Day Celebration Party

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

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

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

on October the 27th I was blissed with:

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

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


on October the 28th I loved:

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


on October the 29th I enjoyed:

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

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

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

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

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

Annie Jubb joins Raw Union - YAY :)

OoOooooooo, I’m VERY excited to say that the lovely Annie Jubb is now going to be joining us at the Raw Union festie :) Annie also happens to be an ordained minister (like Dr. Wolfe – what a fabulously talented community this is ;)...and she will be offering a blessing at our wedding ceremony, bringing in some more divine feminine energy to the occasion – love it :) Annie also tells us that Spirit downloaded names for myself and Mr. M to her and she is going to pass those on to us at the wedding – I’m excited to hear those :)
...AaAaAaaaaaand, I’m thrilled to share that Ms. Jubb will also be helping to head up the Goddess Gathering circle the evening before the wedding, where all the women will be welcomed to join in circle for sacred singing and sharing something from their experience as a ‘gift’ to the marriage. The men will also be doing something similar to this, in a separate men's gathering. It is truly going to be a powerful experience and gives everyone the opportunity to be involved in the ceremony, acting as wise council. We are so EXCITED and delighted to have Annie's participation. YAY :)
If you don’t have your tickets for the weekend festie yet, you can still get early–bird passes at www.RawUnion.com - we hope to see you there – it’s only a MONTH away now – eeeeeeeeeeeek ;)

on May the 17th I had:

1 quart water
water of 2 young coconuts with Greener Grasses
romaine wraps stuffed with avo, dulse, tomatoes and masses of sprouts, followed by half a raw oatmeal cookie
1 quart water
yummy chia pudding meal: chia/maca soaked in coconut water with pieces of fresh mango, cherries, blackberries and young coconut ‘meat’
1 quart water


on May the 18th I had:

1 quart water
water of 2 young coconuts blended with Greener Grasses powder
yummy meal of homemade raw pizza with fresh salad
1 quart water
1 quart veggie juice: celery, romaine, cucumber, carrot
big chunk of GORGEOUS strawberry raw cheesecake
3 cups water


Mr. M and I recently went to visit Steve Prussack of Raw Vegan Radio and recorded a little ‘Raw Union’ interview in his home studio – fun ;) The interview is up on his site now – you can listen to it HERE – it’s about 45 minutes long – enjoy :)


on May the 19th I had:

1 quart water
mug of rooibos tea
shot of wheatgrass juice
2 cups water
3 cups energy soup with Lydia’s Luna Crackers
1 quart water
2 cups veggie juice: celery, cucumber, parsley, spinach, ginger, lemon
fresh cherries with a chunk of strawberry cheesecake
3 cups water


on May the 20th I had:

1 quart water
water of 2 young coconuts with Greener Grasses
2 little apples, 4 Tbsp bee pollen with hemp seeds
1 quart water
a big apple
handful of chlorella ‘nuts’
1 quart water
1lb cherries
2 cups water

You may recall in my last blog post I mentioned the wonderfully fun visit we had with Markus Rothkranz in Las Vegas ;) Well, in case you missed Mr. M’s video of our adventures at ‘Markusworld’, here below is a link to the vid – you can see that Mr. M was clearly very inspired by Markus’s creative flow ;) I think this is my favourite TRFW TV show so far ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jdg85rl61o

ENJOY :)
All love,
Angela. xxx

The Visionary Age...

Well, well, well...seems my recent post on bowel movements during Juice Feasting stirred up many curious questions in your noggins...we’ve been inundated with stool-related queries here - thank you ;) From ‘how is it that if I eat sweetcorn it comes out a day later having bypassed all the encrusted waste in my intestines?’ to ‘why am I not having bowel movements, if I’m doing juices AND smoothies?’ to ‘I’ve started Juice Feasting and am scared of doing enemas – do they really matter? I’m releasing lots of mucus through my nose…’

Ok…here’s my answer for that last one...
Enemas are very simple and not painful - nothing to worry about ;) You can even see videos of how to do them on YouTube ;) They are discussed to a degree in my book 'Revealing the Physical Changes', which you can see HERE.
Colon cleansing is EXTREMELY important while Juice Feasting - you won't be getting anywhere near the amount of cleansing benefits without doing some form of colon irrigation. Most of us are SO toxic and have so much to release - if you're not keeping up with that through internal cleansing, you can easily run into issues. Use a simple lubricant like coconut oil to help the process, take it slowly and I'd recommend some of the writings of either Dr Norman Walker (Become Younger, Colon Health) or my partner Mr Monarch (Raw Spirit, Raw Success) - you can also read many informative articles for free on Matt's website - see http://www.rawspirit.org and go to ‘Articles’.
If you really can't face the idea of enemas by yourself, maybe doing a PROFESSIONAL colonic would appeal more? Or use more Cascara Sagrada to keep things moving out of the system, or use other herbal formulas (e.g. 'Intestinal Movement Formula' by Healthforce), to move stuff out...it is imperative to keep things moving in some way though, for optimal cleansing...
Mucus is just clearing out of your body as a result of the DETOX you are triggering by Juice Feasting - DO AN ENEMA and you'll find this clears MUCH quicker - your body is just taking the opportunity to throw out stuff that's been building up for YEARS... Other things to help: do a sauna, sweat, exercise, tongue scrape, dry skin brush etc - just help your body RELEASE every way you can... ;)

on Feb the 4th I had:

1.5 quarts water
1 quart zucchini/watercress/cabbage/carrot juice
bowl of avo mushed with diced tomatoes/garlic, masses of sprouts – whero peas/sunflower seeds/pumpkin seeds/alfalfa/broccoli/mung beans, karengo and wakame seaweeds, served with cucumber sticks, lettuce leaves and bits of green crackers
1.5 quarts water
1 apple
20oz carrot/celery/spinach/parsley juice
3 dried figs
¼ pineapple
1.5 lbs cherries
3 cups water

Hmmm, sorry to hear the link was broken to Steve ‘Sproutman’ Meyerowitz’s book, in my last post ;( HERE it is again, for those of you who wanted to check it out. PLUS, if you missed his talk on RawVeganRadio many moons ago, I'd definitely recommend it - it's tres inspiring ;) You can listen to that HERE - it's now been moved to the 'Premium' area of the RVR site - they have a NEW offer on right now though, to try out the Premium area for just $1, for a limited time - so, seems like an ideal time to check it out ;)
…and for those of you who still don’t believe raw food fun can happen in the garden in cold places in winter, check out this super-cool picture of ‘Mrs Raw Snowwoman’ forwarded to us from Jan in Georgia this week ;) JUICY :)

on Feb the 5th I had:

1.5 quarts water
8oz orange/pineapple juice
24oz celery/carrot/watercress/kale
bowl of avo mushed with diced tomatoes/garlic, masses of sprouts – whero peas/sunflower seeds/pumpkin seeds/alfalfa/broccoli/mung beans, karengo and wakame seaweeds, served with lettuce leaves and a Mexican power stick
1.5 quarts water
24oz celery/cucumber/lettuce/radish/carrot/cilantro juice
2lbs cherries and a banana
3 cups water

February the 6th is the New Moon in Aquarius - time for radical change, according to Lisa Dale Miller – and this gorgeous occasion comes with a partial solar eclipse - oooo la la, how blessed we are ;) Here’s a few snippets of Ms. Miller’s report for this moon:
“Aquarius is often thought of as visionary: an energy that looks beyond the norm, questions accepted truths, boldly claims originality, flies in the face of reason; and flatly refuses to blindly follow the dictates of others.
The annular solar eclipse will add a bit of heightened energy to this New Moon. Partial phases of the eclipse will be visible primarily from eastern Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. For more information on the eclipse go to NASA’s Eclipse homepage http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/OH/OH2008.html#2008Feb07A
The Aquarius New Moon asks each of us to awaken to the reality of our lives. To see it as it truly is (no rose colored glasses allowed) and then envision a better life; one free of old rules and restrictions that reflect your “I can’ts, I won’ts, I’m unable, and I’m scared”. This is a truth or dare New Moon. Recognize your present circumstances and then dare to vision beyond them, past the boundaries of the known into the unknown.
Aquarius is all about the “power of one” to change the circumstances of the many... Aquarian success comes from connecting to the needs of your generation and making your life a testament to upliftment.
The Aquarius New Moon is all about individuation and freethinking. It is a time to get free of self-imposed restrictions and think out of the box.
Think about how you can become a force for change at your workplace, in your neighborhood, and at home. Change is good! So this New Moon, commit to changing your life and you will change the world. Ride the wave of this mind-altering, life-altering New Moon Cycle.”

Mmmmm, beautiful...from a Leo full moon into an Aquarian new moon :) You can check out Lisa’s FULL report HERE...and GUESS WHAT – in just a few days – on Friday Feb 8th – it’s my own lovely Aquarian’s birthday ;) Yes, Mr Monarch fits the above description of Aquarian energy remarkably accurately, as those of you who know him well will appreciate ;) …and this free-thinking visionary will very soon be embarking on his next trip around the sun...you can send him some big raw birthday love to matt@rawspirit.org (pssssst, don’t tell him I sent you though... ;)

One love,
Angelallalalalalalalalallaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. 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