Raw/Permaculture Retreats in Vilcabamba + Raw Recipes Galore...

OoOOoooo, how much might you love to come and learn to be a superfood chef, a permaculture genius or simply to enjoy a yummmmmy raw rejuvenation retreat, all right here in Vilcabamba, Ecuador, the beautiful “Valley of Longevity”…? ;) Well, dear raw si*star* Kitzia and raw permaculture teacher/chef Bruce Horowitz have some exciting upcoming programmes here to share with y’all…
There are three events they intend to host here next January: a Superfood Chef Training course from January the 15^th to the 20^th, a “Permaculture in Paradise” course on Jan the 21^st and 22^nd, plus a Raw Rejuvenation Retreat from the 15^th to the 22^nd of January… You can see all the details for these three beautiful events over HERE and please note that the current “early-bird special” pricing is due to finish next week, so you might want to contact them soon if you intend to come and play… ;)

On November the 5^th I enjoyed:

1 quart water

2 cups watermelon/orange juice

yummmers bowl of mango blended with avocado :)

2 cups intense greeeeeen juice from the garden

bowl of cucumber salad with avo/sauerkraut, plus flax crackers, nori sheets, Sea Clear, lecithin, tahini on the side, followed by a little yummmers apple

mug of herbal tea

water of a young coconut

2 cups water

on November the 6^th I appreciated:

1 quart water

3 cups coconut water blended with Vitamin C powder

1 cup greeeeeen juice from the garden

2 cups coconut water

bowl of cucumber salad with avo/sauerkraut, plus flax crackers, nori sheets, Sea Clear, lecithin, tahini on the side, followed by a little yummmers apple
3 cups water

mug of herbal tea

chunk of Mr. M’s Pili Nut Chocolate with mug of herbal tea

cup of reishi/shilajit/ormus tea

Those dear raw love-blossoms up in Camp Rawnora in Michigan would love to let y’all know that they have a gorgeous raw recipe calendar for 2012 available now :)
Featuring beautiful glossy pics of all the recipes and only $10 each with discounts for bulk orders (great Holiday gift ;) – you can grab your copy now over HERE – enjoy :)

on November the 7^th I was on the road most of the day and I loved:

1 quart water

3 cups coconut water blended with Vitamin C powder

3 tbsp spirulina crunchies

water of a young coconut

2 curry powersticks, an avocado with flax crackers, 2 little yummmmers apples

water of a young coconut

mug of herbal tea with chunk of Mr. M’s Pili Nut Chocolate

mug of herbal tea

on November the 8^th I was blessed with:

1 quart water

2 cups intense greeeeeen juice from the garden

cup of nut milk and lots of yummmmmmers raw mango cake at a potluck brunch :)
water of a young coconut

little bowl of cucumber salad with avo/sauerkraut, plus flax crackers, nori sheets, Sea Clear, lecithin, tahini on the side, followed by a little yummmers apple

water of a young coconut

mug of herbal tea

 

Mmmmmmm, so it’s getting into that “Holiday Season” time for many of you reading this and this is the time of year we tend to get lots of emails asking how to cope socially with eating raw, what to eat at Holiday time events, what to eat in the cold and so on…well, as I mentioned recently, Heather Haxo Phillips just released her 2011 “Healthy Holidays” ebook with over 50 new raw yummmmmers Holiday-time recipes, which you might love to check out, HERE.

I also recently was inspired to make an amazing raw apple cobbler, as we have some reaaaaally good apples here right now – I poked around on the fabulous “GoneRaw.com” recipe site and found the delicious recipe below submitted by “wanna_B_raw” – apparently the recipe originally came from raw chef Chad Sarno – well, whoever it came from, it’s YUMMMMMMERS and we all loved it here, so I thought I’d share it here for y’all too - you can see the original post HERE– enjoy :)

Yummy Apple Cobbler

Submitted by wanna_B_raw on August 13, 2007 - 6:50pm

Servings: 

Serves 6 - 8

I found this recipe on the internet, but I don’t remember which site! It is BETTER then any cooked cobbler! You won’t miss the frozen Mrs. Smith pies after this!

Ingredients: 

5 medium apples
½ cup raisins, soaked in water 2-4 hours or overnight in fridge
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ lemon, juiced
2 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon sea salt

COBBLER TOPPING INGREDIENTS
1½ cup pecans, not soaked
¾ cup dates, pitted and not soaked
½ teaspoon sea salt

Preparation: 

Peel and chop ONE of the apples. Place it along with the drained raisins, cinnamon, lemon juice, honey, vanilla, nutmeg and salt in a food processor or high speed blender. Pure until completely smooth and creamy. Set aside.
Peel, core and slice thin remaining apples. Place slices in a large bowl and gently toss with pureed mix. Place in a medium sized glass or ceramic dish.
For the topping, in a food processor pulse the pecans until finely ground then add the dates and continue to grind until evenly mixed. Crumble an even layer of the pecan mixture over the apples.
Place your pan in the dehydrator at 115 degrees for about 4 hours. Enjoy! Tastes even better after the first day!

All love, 

Angelalalaaaaaaaaaa. xxx

Reflections From An Ancient Forest...

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


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


on August the 19th I enjoyed:

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


on August the 20th I loved:

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




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

Long live Gaia :)))

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

on August the 21st I appreciated:

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


on August the 22nd I was blissed with:

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


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


All love,
Angelalaalalaaaaaaaaa. xxx

Closing Day of the 2011 Vilcabamba Raw Food Gathering...

WELL...today marked the official closing day of the 2011 Vilcabamba Raw Food Gathering - and what a packed, eventful, inspiring couple of weeks it's been here in the Valley of Longevity ;0

Major THANKS to all who came down here to play, share, co-create and enjoy the flow...today I posted some more of my pictures from the last few days to Facebook - you can check those out HERE if you like...
For now, we are encouraging anyone drawn to the energy of this event to visit http://rawinecuador.grouply.com to connect and stay connected with other like-minded beings - enjoy ;)


on May the 11th I enjoyed:

1 quart water
a yummmmmers mango and little bag of strawberries
2 cups greeeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
little pot of hemp seeds mixed with hemp oil and salt, spread on nori sheets with chlorella flakes, followed by a few macadamia nuts with green raisins
water of a young coconut
3 cups water


on May the 12th we had a HUGE raw potluck at our house and I appreciated:

1 quart water
1.5 cups mandarin/passionfruit juice
2 cups greeeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
water of a young coconut
potluck party food ;) Various delicious salads, some *amazing* raw pie from Mr. M, banana ice cream - yummmmmmm ;)
water of a young coconut

Now, while my pictures from the last couple of weeks here in Vilca might be nice, if you want to see some *really* beautiful shots of the gathering here, I'd strongly recommend you hop on over to dear si*star* Katrina Rainoshek's Flickr account HERE to get your eyeballs fixed on some lush imagery from this latest Vilca Raw Gathering - such beautiful pictures - as her husband David remarked, Katrina seems to be rapidly creating a niche for herself here as the community photographer - enjoy :)


on May the 13th I loved:

1 quart water
1.5 cups mandarin/orange/passionfruit juice
2 cups greeeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
a mango
yummmmers gourmet raw Mexican meal from Sambuca Cafe at their gorgeous Yoga Studio - soup, enchiladas and frozen strawberry cake - wow :)
water of a young coconut


on May the 14th I was blissed with:

1 quart water
1.5 cups mandarin/orange/passionfruit juice
3 granadillas
1 quart greeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
samples of new "coconut sugar" product and "pili nuts", followed by little nori rolls stuffed with hemp seeds/hemp oil/salt mixture, chlorella flakes and sauerkraut; a few macadamias with green raisins
2 cups water
2 cups yummmmmy fruit smoothie and slice of amazing raw birthday cake at Madre Tierra :)
water of a young coconut

...and if you prefer some video action of the recent events here, Mr. M posted a couple of videos in the last two days from the huge raw potluck we hosted at our place a few days back - glorious food, wonderful people, fabulous live music and dancing - a feast on all levels - check out those videos below:

Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa_ScmV8IdI

...and here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C6V5HDulws

THANKS again to all the Gathering paticipants - we appreciate you :)

All love,
Angelalalalalaaaaaaaaaaaaa. xxx

Pics and Footage of Opening Events for 2011 Vilcabamba Raw Food Gathering :)

WELL...what an eventful last 48 hours or so we've been experiencing here in Vilcabamba, where the 2011 Raw Food Gathering kicked off for a two-week run last Sunday...yesterday we enjoyed a lovely opening circle at the beautiful Madre Tierra resort, followed by an absolutely fabulous Opening Reception evening catered by the delightful Kirsten Gum of RawTrips.com and her hearty crew of helpers - over 100 revellers were there to celebrate the opening of this event, delighting in the delicious raw appetizers, soaking up the lush surroundings and mingling with friends old and new...beautiful times... :)

You can see some of my photos from the day here on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.10150231154231410.360034.684101409&l=6ad8b301ee

Mr. M also uploaded a fun video today from the Opening Reception - 

you can check that out HERE - enjoy :)))

on May the 1st I loved:

1 quart water
1 cup VIBRANT mandarin/passionfruit juice
a few berries from the garden and a yummmmmers dragonfruit
shotglass of powerful greeeeen elixir from Mr. M; coconut water, Elixir of the Lake, Greener Grasses, Vitamineral Green
1 quart greeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
little pot of hemp seeds mixed with hemp oil and salt, stuffed into nori sheets (a long-forgotten favourite power snack ;)
watr of three young coconuts

On the subject of this current Raw Gathering, I want to give a big shout out to the lovely Claudia Morales in Chile, who has so kindly and generously volunteered herself as the online translator of all the info for the Gathering from English to Spanish (e.g. on the schedule page HERE, all of the Spanish translation is provided by Claudia - thanks :) Claudia and her boyfriend have also recently started their own blog, in Spanish, all about healthy living, with videos and articles - if you or anyone you know would love to connect more to raw/health info in Spanish, please feel free to check out her work at: www.lovinglife.cl/blog - thanks again, Claudia :)))


on May the 2nd I enjoyed:

1 quart water
1 quart coconut water/mandarin juice/passion fruit juice
a dragon fruit and half a mango
1 cup coconut water
1 cup coconut water mixed with intense greeeeeeen powders
little pot of hemp seeds mixed with hemp oil and salt, stuffed into nori sheets, followed by a DELICIOUS little bowl of homemade raw lavender ice cream - WOW :)
water of a young coconut
a few little *delicious* appetizer morsels at the opening night of the 2011 Vilcabamba Raw Food Gathering - yummmmers :)
water of a young coconut


on May the 3rd I appreciated:

1 quart water
3 cups watermelon juice mixed with passionfruit juice
a dragon fruit
water of a young coconut
an avocado with lime juice, little pot of hemp seeds mixed with hemp oil and salt, stuffed into nori sheets, followed by a sample of Lucuma Balls from Diviana
water of three young coconuts

PLEASE NOTE: we have had a couple of recent schedule changes for The Raw Food World Radio Show. The interview with super-star raw chef Ani Phyo this week has moved from Thursday to Friday at noon Pacific, 3pm Eastern.
Also, we have been able to reschedule the call with the lovely Nadine Artemis of Living Libations, whose call got "eaten" by internet gremlins a couple of weeks ago...we're lined up to be speaking with Nadine again on June the 9th at 6pm Eastern, 3pm Pacific.
Please visit http://www.TheRawFoodWorldRadioShow.com to get the call-in info for these events and...ENJOY :)


All love and blossoming joy,
A. C. Stokes-Monarch. xxx

The "Inspiring Women Summit" Starts Soon... :)

I was very excited to see that there is a wonderful looking new free online summit coming up soon called the "Inspiring Women Summit", which runs from May 7th to the 13th. This summit features over 40 prominent female mover-shakers of the world, including:

Our dear friend Elena Tonetti-Vladimirova, Lynne McTaggart, Marci Shimoff, 

Barbara Marx Hubbard, Janet Attwood, Geneen Roth and many more...

This looks set to be a wonderfully inspiring, educational and entertaining set of interviews and discussions - check out the details and get signed up for this free event HERE - ENJOY :)


on April the 21st I liked:

1 quart water
chunk of fresh watermelon
chunk of pineapple with a few blackberries
little bowl of mango "mousse" while preparing food for a potluck
YUMMERRRRSSSSSS plate of salads and spreads at potluck, followed by some frozen mango pie/banana ice cream
Water of two young coconuts


The Vilcabamba Raw Food Gathering 2011 starts in a *week*, on May 1st - exciting :)
We are curious to see who actually makes it all the way here to the high Andes for this celebration... :)
The "hub" for the event this year is the beautiful Madre Tierra hotel and breaking news from them is that they have a few free rooms left to rent, due to some last minute cancellations - if you're headed this way and looking for a place to stay, just contact Peter Fox on back2olam@gmail.com or 509-928-2141 for details...
All of the info and current schedule outline for the gathering can be found at http://www.therawfoodworld.com/vilcabamba.html - enjoy :)


On April the 22nd I enjoyed:

1 quart water
chunk of fresh watermelon
3 cups vibrant watermelon/passion fruit juice
40 chlorella tablets
water of a young coconut
yummmmmmmmmmmers, *amazing* fresh salad from our garden with 40+ greens, flowers, veggies and more - soooooooooo BEAUTIFUL :))) Topped with some delicious nut pate from David Rainoshek...
bowl of mango "mousse" - mango, coconut oil, vanilla powder
water of three young coconuts


on April the 23rd I appreciated:

1 quart water
3 cups coconut water with passion fruit juice
chunk of fresh pineapple
40 chlorella tablets
little bowl of mango "mousse" - mango and vanilla powder
lovely raw platter at a friend's house - various salads, guacamole, nut burgers with onion bread, followed by a delicious raw fruit cobbler
water of two young coconuts

*Apologies* to all of you on our live call with the lovely Nadine Artemis on Friday evening when our Ecuadorian internet suddenly tanked and has yet still to resurface as I write this on Sunday afternoon, almost two full days later... (Easter weekend in Catholic country = no-one at work in internet company, apparently ;)
Right now we are gratefully connected online for a short time via a friend's generous line-sharing...and we *hope* to be back online again as usual by tomorrow...whereupon we can hopefully reschedule the call with the gracious Nadine ;)
The first 15 minutes of call time that we were able to enjoy together were GREAT, so here's looking forward to the next installment...you can sign up for access at http://www.TheRawFoodWorldRadioShow.com if you're not already signed up for call info for this interview...

Also, remember that the RawReform Giveaway Contest prize this month is a gift pack of gorgeous skin care goodies from Nadine too - see HERE for more info...

Wishing all of you whom enjoy this holiday a very Happy Easter :)

All love,
Angelalalaalaaaaaaaaaaa. xxx

Do You Give The Best Of Yourself To Your Loved Ones...?

I'd love to let you know about a series of inspiring short free videos from our dear friend Brian Johnson over at PhilosophersNotes.com - as you may recall, Brian recently published a book on the top 100 ideas that most stood out to him from the countless dozens of inspiring books he has read in the last few years for his "PhilosophersNotes" project...now he is taking those top 100 distilled ideas from his book and making a short video for each one, so you can actually pretty much "read" the whole book for freeee via this video series - you can check the videos out HERE - there are 9 of the 100 videos already posted as I write this - the rest will keep on coming, so get on board now if you wanna see how they flow - enjoy :)


on April the 9th I loved:

1 quart water
chunk of fresh watermelon
1 quart greeeeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
40 chlorella tablets
bowl of chia pudding with maca, ashwaghanda, banana, mango
3 cups water
YUMMERRRRSSSSSS Gopal's Curry Powersticks :)
Water of a young coconut

There are still a few last-minute rooms left at the beautiful Madre Tierra hotel here in Vilcabamba for the 2011 Raw Food Gathering, May 1st-14th...if you're intending to head this way and you're not sure where you're staying, you can contact Peter, the hotel owner on 509-928-2141 or back2olam@gmail.com to secure your place.

You can check the current schedule outline for this gathering, along with travel guidance etc at http://www.TheRawFoodWorld.com/vilcabamba.html.

Come on down, meet other like-minded lovelies, soak up the radiant sun and munch into the luscious fresh produce... If you'd love to offer a talk or other kind of event during the gathering, just email matthew.monarch123@gmail.com and let us know your preferred date/time slot and the theme you'd love to share...

As ever, if anyone is also willing or able to bring extra goodies/baggage down here with them, we'd love to hear from you...please email matthew.monarch123@gmail.com to let us know your travel plans :)

We look forward to enjoying a fun gathering soon with whoever actually finds their way here... :)

on April the 10th I appreciated:

1 quart water
chunk of fresh pineapple
3 cups greeeeeeen juice mixed with carrot juice
40 chlorella tablets
an avocado spread onto nori sheets with a little spicy red bell pepper sauce on top, followed by 2 cups sesame/banana milk
water of a young coconut


At a retreat I was holding once, a wise woman once shared this idea with the group:
 

"I like to make sure I give the best of myself to my loved ones, not other people." 

This struck me as simple, golden guidance. How often it seems that people reserve the apparent "best" of themselves for maintaining a public show that "all is well", while behaving in other-than-radiant ways with their families, close friends or house mates...whether that means complaining, arguing, gossiping or shouting at our supposed "nearest and dearest", or whatever this behaviour manifests as...what a refreshing idea to consciously choose to keep our best for those whom we believe that we love and cherish the most...makes sense, non...?
Of course, it would be the loveliest intention methinks to treat everyone with a gentle, open heart, compassion, understanding and joy...however, if we do not yet, for whatever reason, feel able or willing to hold that kind of space with everyone we encounter, we could at least choose to treat our closest associates with loving appreciation and compassion. What a turn around this could bring, if people everywhere chose to act on this idea...
I am reminded of another sage piece of guidance shared with me along this theme when I was in the grip some years back of a particularly co-dependent, abusive relationship...an older woman pointed out to me that the guy in this relationship was CHOOSING to speak to me in unsupportive, violent and unkind ways - he would not, for example, choose to scream or shout in rage at someone he briefly encountered, like someone trying to help him locate an item in a supermarket, or someone who had just delivered him mail...yet he would choose to speak to me, the person supposedly nearest and dearest to him, in harsh tones and with violent outbursts - a bizarre state of events when viewed from the outside, yet one that seems remarkably common from my observances of modern, strained human relationships...may we all remember to do our best to share our radiant selves with others, especially those whom we claim to love the most... ;)

All love and explorations of joy,
ACS-M. xxx

Vilcabamba Raw Food Gathering, May 1st-14th 2011

OooOoooooo, we are just a couple of months away from the intended start of the 2011 Vilcabamba Raw Food Gathering, from May 1st-14th in Vilcabamba, Ecuador :)

Mr. M has been busily pinning together a rough schedule for this two week event and we're excited to see how this co-creative event unfolds - here's his event page with rough schedule so far: http://www.therawfoodworld.com/vilcabamba.html

There is also a Facebook page for the event HERE if you'd like to connect there too... ;)

This is intended to be a "free-flow" event with everyone co-creating an enjoyable, educational time together through activities, talks and other fun trips...there is no "entrance fee" for this gathering - just get yourself here, find a place to stay and enjoy :) Think of it like being on holiday with lots of like-minded people at the same time in the same place ;) Last year over 120 people gathered here from all over the world - we look forward to seeing y'all here again this year if you can make it - please check out the links given above for more details ;)


on February the 24th I enjoyed:

1 quart water
1 quart orange juice mixed with coconut water
1 quart greeeeeeeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
a mango and a dragon fruit
shared cucumber salad with Mr. M; salad stuffed into nori sheets with Sea Clear and fresh Brazil nut butter, followed by amaaaaaaazing raw "fudge" (cacao butter, fresh almond butter and honey stirred together and hardened in fridge :)
mug of matico tea
water of two young coconuts

OoOOoooo lala - Mr. M put up the March "At-Cost" Specials a few days early, so until we hit March, you can currently access BOTH the February and March specials at the same time - check them all out at this link HERE - enjoy ;)


on February the 25th I loved:

1 quart water
cup of orange juice
1 quart greeeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
a mango and a dragon fruit
shared cucumber salad with Mr. M; salad stuffed into nori sheets with Sea Clear and fresh almond butter, followed by amaaaaaaazing raw "fudge" (fresh pecan butter and honey stirred together :)
mug of maca tea
water of a young coconut


on February the 26th I enjoyed:

1 quart water
3 cups orange juice mixed with coconut water
1 quart greeeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
a fresh fig and berries from the garden
shared cucumber salad with Mr. M; salad stuffed into nori sheets with Sea Clear and fresh almond butter, followed by some pruuuuuuunes
2 mugs reishi/shilajit/ormus tea
water of two young coconuts


I'm very excited to announce that the second Women's International Summit for Health (WISH) is due to start soon, on March the 8th, offering an ext*raw*dinary *40* days and nights of FREE insightful interviews with such luminary lovelies as:

Mike Adams, John Robbins, Byron Katie, Marianne Williamson,
Maya Angelou, Brian Johnson, Donna Gates, Colin Campbell,
Joel Fuhrman, Nadine Artemis and many more...

...and covering topics such as: relationships, health, attitude, wisdom, food, fitness, abundance, beauty and more, this summit is set to share a stellar line up of content... To get signed up for this FREE summit, just click over HERE and enjoy :)

All love,
Angelaaaaaa Stooooooooookes-Monaaaaaaaaaaaarch. xxx

The Anthropology of YouTube...

WOW, I watched a super-cool little video online last night about the "anthropology" of YouTube - the origins, the stories, the connective powers, the controversies and so on...I found it really interesting, especially to learn that it only just started in early 2005 - it feels like YouTube has been around a lot longer than that to me - it feels like so much a part of our daily lives now and such a *blessing* in so many ways - for sharing info, connecting with others, co-creating - I especially love to use it as a jukebox - the most *amazing* jukebox that I can just tap virtually any song name into and be watching a video with that song within seconds...wow...sending gratitude for YouTube today and all who sail in her... ;)

The YouTube "Anthropology" video is abt 55 mins long and can be seen HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPAO-lZ4_hU

ENJOY :)

on January the 22nd I appreciated:

1 quart water
3 cups watermelon/orange/pomegranate juice
3 cups greeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
a yummy mango
3 cups cucumber/pineapple juice blended with a little Ormus Greeeeeeens
shared cucumber salad meal with Mr. M; salad stuffed into nori sheets with a little Sea Clear and almond butter, followed by a few dried prunes :)
mug of reishi/shilajit/ormus tea
mug of lemongrass tea


on January the 23rd I enjoyed:

1 quart water
3 cups watermelon/orange juice
3 cups greeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
a mango
water of a young coconut
shared cucumber salad meal with Mr. M; salad stuffed into nori sheets with a little Sea Clear and almond butter, followed by a few dried prunes :)
mug of reishi/shilajit/ormus tea
water of two young coconuts


Little Reminder: Mr. Monarch's epic LIVE call with The Daniel of Vitalis is lined up to start today at 11am Pacific time, 2pm Eastern. If you're not signed up yet for this free call, you can get the access info over at www.TheRawFoodWorldRadioShow.com - we look forwarding to connecting live with y'all on the call soooooooon... ;)


on January the 24th I was blissed with:

1 quart water
3 cups watermelon/orange juice
3 cups greeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
a mango
water of a young coconut
shared cucumber salad meal with Mr. M; salad stuffed into nori sheets with a little Sea Clear and almond butter, followed by a few dried prunes :)
mug of lemongrass tea
water of two young coconuts


on January the 25th I rejoiced in:

1 quart water
3 cups watermelon/orange juice
cup of greeeeeeen juice
water of a young coconut
3 cups pineapple/cucumber juice blended with a little Ormus Greens
a mango and 4 fresh figs from the garden - WOW :)
shared cucumber salad meal with Mr. M; salad stuffed into nori sheets with a little Sea Clear and pistachio butter, followed by a carob yumpot :)
mug of reishi/shilajit/ormus tea
1 cup water

OooOoooo, exciting Biodynamic Workshop news :) Our dear friend Walter Moora here in Vilcabamba, Ecuador, is holding TWO upcoming courses on Biodynamic Farming, at his *beautiful* "Serendipity Farm" in the Vilca area... The courses start on Feb the 13th and 27th and each course lasts two weeks. The cost for each two week segment is $490, which includes room, board and tuition. You can see all the details for the courses HERE. If you watch our online TV show, you may recall that Walter visited our land a few months back and helped us to set things up with some Biodynamic preps - see HERE if you missed that video...

ENJOY :)

All love and reverberations of serendipity, 

A. Stokes-Monarch. xxx

New Vilcabamba Raw Food Gathering Website Ready :)

Happy December to you all :)

'Tis December the 1st today, meaning we are just five months away from the intended start date of the next "free-flow" raw food gathering here in Vilcabamba, on May the 1st 2011 ;O

I am excited to announce that we now finally have a new community website to host information for this next raw food gathering.
As you may know, we had a website with the company "Ning" before - unfortunately however, Ning stopped offering free social network sites, so we have now moved to grouply.com - a very similar service to Ning and free :)

The new site link is: http://rawinecuador.grouply.com

Please visit this new site to add or update your profile, let us know if you intend to be here in May 2011, read details HERE about the intended gathering, connect with others, add possible events, pictures, videos and whatever else you are inspired to share...
We believe that around 120 people came to Vilcabamba this year, in May 2010, for the first gathering and it was a *fabulous* two weeks of connection and joy :)

We look forward to seeing you here next May if you are able to make it ;)

On November the 28th I enjoyed:

1 quart water
1 quart coconut water blended with Greener Grasses and vanilla stevia :)
bowl of papaya/coconut yoghurt/carob/maca/ashwagandha/astragalus/stevia
2 cups wild greeeeeeeen/coconut water elixir
1 quart cucumber/pineapple juice
shared cucumber salad with Mr. M; salad stuffed into nori sheets with Sea Clear, followed by a carob "Brownie Batter" yumpot ;)
glass of chilled peppermint sun tea with vanilla stevia
1 cup water

This week I fell in love with a "Celtic Woman" ;)

Somehow this *amazing* all-woman group from Ireland had not crossed my radar until the last few days...and now I am listening to them almost non-stop on YouTube, cycling through all their Playlists there...WOW...I am so impressed with the grace, beauty, talent and uplifting energy of these gorgeous women - they all seem so talented individually, then joined together, they are a total powerhouse of beautiful music...here are a few of my favourite renditions from them so far:

O Come All Ye Faithful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eLDvM7eSq0

Over The Rainbow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5T6gyCPDvM

At The Ceili: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr9kSKycZbM

ENJOY :)))

on November the 29th I loved:

1 quart water
3 cups watermelon/orange juice
2 cups cucumber/pineapple juice blended with Ormus Greeeens
7 granadillas
3 cups greeeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
bowl of papaya/coconut yoghurt/carob/maca/ashwagandha/astragalus/stevia
glass of chilled peppermint sun tea with vanilla stevia
2 cups horchata tea
1 cup coconut kefir
1 cup water


on November the 30th I was blissed with:

1 quart water
1 cup orange juice
1 quart greeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
1 tbsp bee pollen, 7 granadilla
1 quart greeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
shared cucumber salad with Mr. M; salad stuffed into nori sheets with Sea Clear and lecithin, followed by a carob "Brownie Batter" yumpot ;)
2 cups chilled mint sun tea with vanilla stevia
1 cup water

Un petite reminder:

The current RawReform Giveaway Contest to win three different gift packs of Wildcrafted Superfood Seeds closes in three days, on December 4th - THANK YOU for all the amazing and inspiring entries that you've all sent in already and here's a reminder of the deets if you haven't participated yet:

The Blackbird Naturals crew have generously offered us three packs of their beautiful seeds to give away:

*one Immunity Boost 3-Pack (contains Maca, Astragalus, Calendula)
*one Wild Salad Mix 3-Pack (contains Dandelion, Lamb's Quarters, Wild Mountain Spinach)
*one Superfood Seed Presentation Pack (contains all 13 seed packs)

We will choose three winners and send one of these packs to each winner - if *you* would love to get your greeeeen fingers wrapped around one of these beautiful presentation packs full of potential and abundance, just send us in your answer to the following question, to rawreformcontests@gmail.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it :

"What is your favourite way to express your love and connection with Mother Earth?"

The three winners of the seeds will be chosen at random and with love on December the 4th, so get your entries in to rawreformcontests@gmail.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it before then - thanks :)
All love,
A. Stokes-Monarch. xxx



P.S. It seems that a number of you had issues accessing the link to vote for Lillian Muller as the "Sexiest Veg*n over 50" on the PETA site - here is the link in full again if you want to check it out and show raw foodie Lillian your support: http://features.peta.org/PetaPrime/SexiestVegOver50/Finalists.aspx - maybe try copying/pasting that address too, if you still have issues accessing the site... ;)

We Are Home :)))

Happy 10-10-10 everyone :)  

Happy World Raw Food Day, Happy Crystal Grid Activation Portal Day...what a wonderful day :)))

We are HOME :)))

After two months of travelling and speaking in N.America, Mr. Monarch and I are bursting with joy to be HOME again, at our beautiful homestead in Vilcabamba :)
It felt sooooooo GOOD to get back - we have both been sporting permagrins since our arrival, not least because we arrived home to meet a whole new member of our family ;O
Our mare Barbie is now the very proud mum of a beautiful baby boy (colt), named Cherry Star :))) Cherry arrived with the new moon on the morning of October 7th and is outrageously gorgeous - see below for evidence ;) We are so happy to welcome him to the land and our family :)))

Below are links to two sets of photos, some of Cherry Star and some of the garden/land, which is all coming along beautifully :) ENJOY :)


on October the 6th I appreciated:

1 quart water
2 tbsp bee pollen, 1tbsp spirulina crunchies
1 quart greeeeeeeeen juice
big shared "final supper" meal at Au Lac restaurant with friends, including raw 'garlic bread', soups, pizzas, salads and donut holes :)
3 cups water


on October the 7th it was a day of travel for us and I loved:

1 quart water
bunch of yummmmy red grapes
2 cups water
shared plane picnic with Mr. M of: romaine/nori wraps stuffed with Sea Clear, avocado, lecithin, tomatoes, cucumber, sprouts and kale chips, followed by a yummmmy fresh apple
mug of herbal tea
2 cups water

Click this link below for the pics of Cherry Star:

http://tinyurl.com/cherrystar

on October the 8th we were still on the road and I was blissed with:

1 quart water
water of three young coconuts :)
a dragon fruit and three granadilla fruits
airport picnic of romaine/nori wraps stuffed with Sea Clear, avocado, lecithin, tomatoes, cucumber, sprouts and kale chips, followed by a yummmmy fresh apple :)
2 cups water
3 tbsps acai powder
2 cups water


on October the 9th we were *finally* home and I LOVED:

1 quart water
water of 2 young coconuts
1 quart greeeeeeeeen juice from the garden :)
slice of homegrown watermelon from our garden :)))
4 granadillas :)
YumMmmmmmmmmy impromptu kale salad meal with Mr. M, with kale chips also on the side ;)
Big mug of horchata tea
2 cups water

Click this link below for the pics from the land/garden:

http://tinyurl.com/vilcagarden

All love and blossoming bliss :)
Angelalalaalaaaaaaaaa. xxx


P.S. The Raw Mom, Cooked Dad summit starts TODAY - check it out HERE if you're not already signed up for this series of FREE interviews :)

WIN Ani Phyo's New Book :)

I am *thrilled* to say that the RawReform Giveaway Prize this month is a brand new, shiny copy of dear raw si*star* Ani Phyo's latest book "Ani's Raw Food Essentials" - yeeeeeeeee-HAH :)
Ani's first raw book "Ani's Raw Food Kitchen" has long been my favourite raw recipe book and now I'm wondering if this new "Essentials" book might take over that position...those of you who are familiar with Ani's work will know what an absolute expert she is in creating simple, delicious raw meals with few ingredients, yet lots of flavour and love...she produces such gorgeous food and stylish books - love her work ;) ...and now you can win a FREE copy of her latest book - YAY :)
To be in with a chance of winning this lovely addition to your library, just send in your answer to the following Q to angela@rawreform.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it :

"What is *your* 'essential' raw food recipe
that you love to make?"

Send your entries in by September the 3rd to be in with a chance of winning...the winner shall be picked at random and with joy shortly thereafter...enjoy ;)

on July the 31st I enjoyed:

1 quart water
2 cups greeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
2 tbsp bee pollen
2 cups greeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
water of a young coconut + a 'chocolate bliss ball' from a friend ;)
shared cucumber salad with Mr. M, followed by a mug of horchata tea with stevia
2 cups water


on August the 1st I was excited and loved:

1 quart water
water of a young coconut
2 tbsp bee pollen
shared cucumber salad with Mr. M and friends, followed by a bowl of frozen coconut-banana-berry dessert
2 cups water
2 mugs horchata tea
1 cup water


WOW - thank you all *SO* very much for all your beautiful and inspiring entries to last month's RawReform Giveaway Contest, to win a year's free subscription to conscious parenting magazine "The Mother"...you absolutely blitzed our hearts and minds with your beautiful answers to the following question: "What is the most inspiring thing you've ever learnt from a child...?"
The winner of the year's subscription, picked today at random is Shayla, who sent in the following moving entry:

"The most inspiring thing that I've ever learned from a child was actually learned from two babies who never lived to take a breath.  I learned how to live on after losing someone(s) I loved, even when the pain and emptiness threatened to completely shatter me.  I learned that I'm stronger than I ever thought, because I never imagined that I would make it through.  I learned that I can handle anything, because I lost them and I'm still here.   Finally, I learned that for all the feelings of loss...I never lost anything at all, because when the clouds lifted, They were everywhere."
Shayla

Mmmmm, thanks so much for sharing, Shayla...we send you love and light...and your magazines ought to start arriving with you soooooon too...
...and if *you* weren't the winner this time round and would still love to receive The Mother magazine, you can subscribe to their fabulous mag at www.themothermagazine.co.uk - the rates are very reasonable and they deliver worldwide - enjoy ;)


on August the 2nd I appreciated:

1 quart water
3 cups watermelon/orange juice
2 cups greeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
2 cups greeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
a little papaya, tbsp bee pollen
yummmmy big shared raw potluck extravaganza with various salads, berry/banana ice cream and apple/coconut/cinnamon salad
2 cups water


on August the 3rd it was a day of travelling for us and I enjoyed:

1 quart water
2 cups greeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
2 cups greeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
2 tbsp bee pollen, 3 tbsp spiulina crunchies
a small papaya
water of a young coconut
shared cucumber salad with Mr. M, followed by a mug of horchata tea with stevia
2 cups water

Today is our last full day here in Vilcabamba for now...we're headed to Quito then back to the USA, for 2 months...eeeeeeeeeeeeeek... ;)
It feels *very* odd to think of leaving here and my heart is a little heavy today saying goodbye to the horses, land and community for the next little while...we will carry all of this richness in our hearts though and of course enjoy the journey along the way ;)
We have had an *AMAZING* time here the last few months, meeting the land and our new home, starting our first veggie garden and orchard together, co-creating our ideal living conditions, finding Sparkie and Barbie to welcome into our family, connecting with community here, co-hosting the raw gathering and so much more - epic times and we look forward to many more along the way...
For now though, we look forward to connecting and re-connecting with lots of you back in N. America - for the latest info on our tour/talks/events up there in the coming months, please see HERE...we hope to see lots of you at these events if you're able to make it... :)))

For now, adios... ;)

All love and delicious adventures unfolding...
Angelalalalaaaaaaaaaaaa. xxx