oOOooOOooooooooo, I am DELIGHTED to say that Mr. M and I are now at The Tree of Life in Arizona, for 30 days of Green Juice Feasting, body work and relaxation - YUMMMMMY :)
Yesterday was our first day of Juice Feasting and I'm feeling GREAT so far - I've never done a JF without fruit before, so this is going to be interesting for me I'm sure, digging right into deeeep cleansing...last night I also experienced a three-hour sweat lodge here under the new moon on this sacred land - pheeewwwww ;) The energy here is HIGH ;O
We are hosting a retreat here from December 27th to January the 6th - come and join us if you'd love to (you don't have to Juice Feast with us - lol ;) You can eat the amazing raw food creations at the Tree of Life Cafe...) Mr. M just posted a little video of us last night on our first day at the Tree - see below:
Hope to see you here, if you can join us ;)
on December the 13th I enjoyed:
1 quart water
shotglass of orange juice
3 cups greeeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, zucchini, parsley, spinach, endive, fennel, ginger
bowl of energy soup with various munchycrunchies on the side: ginger bread, Nonliand Coconut Crisps, curry flavoured sunflower seeds, followed by a JUICY apple ;)
1 quart water
3 tbsp bee pollen, 2 tbsp goji powder
2 cups water
on December the 14th I was delighted with:
1 quart water
3 cups greeeeen juice: cucumber, zucchini, kale, masses of sprouts, fennel, ginger, lemon
bowl of energy soup with crunchymunchies on the side: curry flavoured sunflower seeds, coconut crisps, followed by a juicy apple
1 quart water
little bowl of amazing green soup and slice of raw pumpkin pie at The Blue Nile café in Tempe, AZ – WOW :)
lots of lovely cinnamon/orange tea
3 cups water
Those of you who get the RawReform Newsletter may have already seen a little article I sent out this week called "Seven Tips for Eating Raw in Winter/Cold Places" - I thought I'd re-post it here today for anyone who didn't see it yet and might enjoy it...(you can see the whole newsletter HERE ;)
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One of the questions I get asked most often at this time of year (from the Northern Hemisphere at least ;) is: "how can someone eat raw in the winter time?". As I write this, I'm in Arizona, in the blazing hot desert and sweating just BEING here, yet I know many people are feeling cold and shivery this time of year...so here below are seven top tips for keeping warm, healthy and raw during the cold times - enjoy :)
1. Sprout, Sprout, SPROUT ;) Lettuce may be $4 a head and your jaws might be aching from chewing throug
h the mounds of tough winter greens, yet a solution is easy - SPROUT your own baby greens right there in your kitchen, for pennies on the dollar, year-round. It doesn't MATTER where you live, what the weather is like outside or what your budget looks like - sprouting is easy, cheap and provides abundant crops year-round. I suggest picking up a few 'sprouting bags' plus a bag of easy sprouts to start with such as alfalfa or our 'Garden Salad' mix and get going - ENJOY :)2. Dense Foods - you might find it beneficial to eat more dense foods in the cold/wintertime, to help your body get essential fats and buffer out the cold. Nuts, seeds, coconut meat, avocadoes, durian, olives, oils and other heavier foods might appeal to you more at this time than in the summer/warm climates.
3. Warm Drinks/Meals - I have always found warm herbal teas to be VERY useful for getting through cold times a
s a raw foodie (and remember, I went raw in Iceland and am from the UK originally ;)... Raw food does not have to equal COLD food. You might enjoy having foods straight from a dehydrator or warmed soups too - if you can keep your finger in a warmed soup without pain, then you're not likely causing too much damage to the enzymes in the food either ;) Avoid eating things straight from the fridge if you're feeling chilly...on December the 15th I loved:
1 quart water
shotglass of orange juice
2 cups coconut water blended with Greener Grasses
20 chlorella tablets, 2 tbsp bee pollen, 2 tbsp goji powder
2 cups water
durian feast with Mr. Monarch :) ("final supper", pre-Juice Feast ;)
1 quart water
on December the 16th (first day of intended 30-day Juice Feast) I enjoyed:
1 quart water
mug of herbal tea
3 tbsp bee pollen
mug of herbal tea
2 cups greeeeeeen juice from Tree of Life Café
2 tbsp bee pollen with 1 tsp spirulina crunchies – YUM ;)
2 cups greeeeeeen juice from Tree of Life Café
1 tsp royal jelly, 3 tbsp bee pollen, 40 chlorella tablets
2 cups water
2 cups greeeeeeen juice from Tree of Life Café
2 cups water
3 tbsp bee pollen
2 cups water
4. Warming Foods - certain foods have a 'warming' effect on the body and you might find these useful during cold times, e.g. ginger, cayenne and hot peppers. I like sprinkling cayenne into my energy soup...I also know many people who love to drink straight ginger juice shots in the winter (NOT me ;)...
5. Dress Warmly - this might seem like an obvious point, yet I'm always surprised how many people complain of being cold in the winter time while wearing little clothing...dress WARMER ;) Just like other animals get their thicker 'winter coats', you might want to thicken out your wardrobe in the winter too, instead of reaching for that thermostat and turning the heating up ;) We lose the most heat apparently from our feet and heads, so keeping those areas especially warm could be beneficial...
6. Exercise/Sweat - don't go into stagnation over the winter time: sweat ;) Do your best to get sweaty at least once a day if you can. Move your body, exercise, get your circulation and metabolism going...rebounding and hot yoga are two excellent indoor winter activities to get sweaty and limber ;)
7. Spleen Support - this last tip especially goes out to all my brethren in the UK, where the winters are typically cold and DAMP...be watchful of your spleen and liver at this time of year, as these organs can often get low in energy in the creeeeeeeping cold dampness...brrrrrrrrrr... ;) You can support these vital organs with warming foods and herbs such as dandelion, astragalus and milk thistle...
I hope that helps...sending bright winter blissings to you all, wherever you are ;)
All love,
ANgelalalalalalllallllLlllllaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. xxx
