Step 4 in your Raw Food Journey: Drink Your Greens

Don't skip this step. Greens are very healing. If you are sick, don't have chicken soup. Drink your greens. Below are quotes from experts:

-From The Wheatgrass Book by Ann Wigmore: Chlorophyll is the blood of the plant...it is condensed solar energy. Chlorophyll increases the function of the heart, affects the vascular system, the intestines, the uterus and the lungs. It is a tonic which, considering its stimulating properties, cannot be compared with any other.

-From Your Right to Be Beautiful by Tonya Zavasta: Our blood is very similar to green juice. The main difference between a molecule of chlorophyll in green juice and a molecule of hemoglobin in the blood is the central atom. Hemoglobin, the protein that makes our blood red, has iron as its central atom. Chlorophyll, the protein that makes plants green, has magnesium at its center.

-From Heal Thyself by Queen Afua: Chlorophyll detoxes and rejuvenates tissues, cells, blood, arteries, and nerves. The more we consume chlorophyll, in the form of eating green leaves like salad and herbs as well as green veggie juices and wheatgrass, the healthier our skin, hair, and bones, the purer our thoughts, and the more harmonious and healthy our relationships will be. Chlorophyll consumption brings heaven on earth...I would go so far as to say that if a community, a country, or even the world consumes chlorophyll consistently, we would see an end to world famine, dis-ease and war.

Someone asked me about a Green Lemonade recipe. It is from the book The Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalia Rose.
1 head romaine lettuce or celery (I use a few leaves of romaine)
5 to 6 stalks kale
1 to 2 apples as needed for sweetness
1 lemon - don't need to peel it
1 to 2 tablespoons of fresh ginger (optional)
Press the veggies through the juicer and drink. The lemon cuts out the "green taste" people try to avoid.

I know that I feel so much better drinking my green juice or green smoothies in the morning. I would also recommend reading Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko. Her website is http://www.rawfamily.com/.
Love,
Althea

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Step 4 in your Raw Food Journey: Drink Your Greens

Step 3 in your Raw Food Journey: Meet Other Raw Foodies

I mentioned online social networks yesterday. I think hanging out with and meeting other raw foodies or wannabe raw foodies is paramount. Meeting with other people in person can be a life-saver when you feel all alone.

Meetup.com (http://www.meetup.com/) is a great place to find if other raw foodies are gathering in your area. You can start a meetup if there is not one where you live. You can also just have a raw food potluck at your house and invite your friends.

And of course, there's the latest in social networks, which is http://www.ning.com/. You can find a group for anything on Ning. Here are the raw food-related networks I am a member of:

Give it to me Raw: http://www.giveittomeraw.com/
SoulVegFolk: http://www.soulvegfolk.com/
Circle of Sisters: http://sistercircles.ning.com/

That last one, Circle of Sisters, is, in the moderator's words, "The Ultimate Sister Circle Network created to help women of Afrikan Descent who want to change their lives using the Queen's methods." The Queen being Queen Afua.

This goes back to my point yesterday about reading a ton of books. You are going to find authors that resonate with you. I am totally feeling Queen Afua. I've had the pleasure of meeting her twice, and it was obvious that this is a woman who practices what she preaches. Her books, Heal Thyself and Sacred Woman are considered classics in the holistic healing movement. All of her three children are adults and she has to at least be in her fifties, but you can't tell by looking at her. She is a passionate advocate of healing all people, but particularly African-Americans because we die at ridiculous rates of preventable and treatable diseases.

I remember when I read the original edition of Heal Thyself in 1999. I was like, YES!!! Every word made sense to me. Rom, my then-boyfriend, now-husband, said at the time, "I have never seen you read a book so fast." I was all over it. Fasting, cleaning out the body, healing diseases, yes, ma'am, it all resonated with me.

So when I was invited to join Circle of Sisters, it was a no-brainer. Now the moderator is working on getting us to meet in person in 2009. And that is my point. You never know when an online connection will turn into an in-person connection that will benefit you.

Until next time.

love,

Althea

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Step 3 in your Raw Food Journey: Meet Other Raw Foodies

Step 2 of your Raw Food Journey: Read a Ton of Books and....

Hi All! This may seem obvious but to be a successful raw foodie, you gotta read! And read more, and read some more and read even more.

And just when you think you are done reading, read even MORE.

In other words, build a raw food library. I don't think you can have too many books. Books show you the endless possibilities with raw food.
And reading includes online resources!

Create a separate email account for your raw food newsletters and social networks and blogs. I have four email accounts. One is general, one is for raw food, one is for homeschooling, and one is for writing & Mocha Angels. If I didn't separate them from each other, I would never get through my emails.

Sign up for all newsletters. If your favorite blog has a subscription service, sign up. If it doesn't,write the owner and ask her to add a feed or subscription button. Read, read, read!
This step is a life-long step. Never stop reading and learning from other people!

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Step 2 of your Raw Food Journey: Read a Ton of Books and....

The Start of Your Raw Journey

Step 1:
Have a large, huge, bigger-than-yourself WHY!
(And having a 900-year-old Jedi Master as your teacher, in this life and the afterlife, wouldn't hurt either.)

If you are a subscriber, go to my blog url www.therawmochaangel.blogspot.com and see my WHYs at the right side of the screen.

You cannot be raw vegan if your WHYs are not huge. You are making a life-changing choice: to buck the societal trend of eating high-fat, high-cholesterol, artery-busting, processed, tastes fantastic, but is ultimately causing insert your disease here food. Food is everywhere and you are saying NO to all of that?
-You are giving up your grandmother's blackberry cobbler? Are you kidding?
-You are passing up the Dunkin Donuts at the office? I thought America ran on Dunkin. (Don't get me started.)
-Are you prepared to explain to your family, at every function you see them at (Christmas, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, family reunions, Thanksgiving, funerals, weddings, and births) that not only do you not eat animal products, but you don't cook your food either?

This is larger than willpower. Write down your WHYs. Take your time. Post them in places where you can see them everyday.

And have a mission statement. When someone asks you why you are raw, you can roll that statement off your tongue as quickly as your name and address. That's on my blog as well.

Step 1.2: This is for the sister who wrote me about the same PMS/DMS issues I was having.
(send me your email address)
Don't make any changes until your cycle is over. I tried while I was still on my period and it didn't work. It was like trying to fight Mike Tyson in the ring. I would lose. So I waited until it was over, and I did EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique). www.emofree.com I mentioned it before, and I am a believer as you can see. I did EFT on the following:
-baked cookies
-baked cakes
-baked pies
-potato chips
-meat
-dairy
-pasta
When you download the free manual, you'll see how Gary Craig says to be specific as possible while you tap on the meridian points. I don't even eat meat any longer, but I threw it in there anyway.

And as a bonus, I made this smoothie yesterday and it ROCKED!

RawDawg Rory's Peanut Butter Smoothie
http://www.giveittomeraw.com/video/video/show?id=1407416%3AVideo%3A270310

More tomorrow.

Love,

Althea

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The Start of Your Raw Journey

Raw Like My Life Depends On It

Raw Oatmeal

Hi Everybody!

I know it's been a while since I posted. I've been suffering from PMS and DMS (During Menstrual Syndrome). This has been the worst I've had in at least six months. I had it all: bloating, irritability, cravings for baked food, you name it. I've been off and on raw for that reason.

Sometimes it feels like there's another person in me that wants nothing but rich, cooked food in order to satisfy whatever issues she has. In Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom Dr. Christiane Northrup says that PMS is a time when a woman's true needs come out. The husband wants her 'fixed' ("Fix her, doc. Can't you just give her a pill or sum'thin?") and the woman is a heaving, crying mess. This time, for me, my creative self was itching to come out. So everyday since June 1 I've been working on two of my books. I'm doing the absolute final round of edits for Mocha Angels. And I've been typing the first draft of my second novel. I've committed to at least 250 words a day in the novel. Uninterrupted, it takes 10 minutes for me to type 250 words. I got up this morning and typed 500 words in the manuscript.

And I was able to do that because yesterday I was all raw. I had lots of fruit and cashew nori rolls and kale. I got up before my kids this morning and typed pretty fast. Hence, why I said I'm "Raw like my life depends on it." I think it does.

Me and my mom talked yesterday. We have the same reaction to cooked food. We wondered if we have food allergies. We don't know, but we know how we feel: like &$#@. And feeling like
$!*^# on a daily basis is not acceptable to me. I have a family to raise. I need to be my best everyday. So for me, and my mom, 80/20 or 75/25 or 50/50 raw/cooked is not doable.

So this is not about labels. I don't judge what other people eat. But I am paying attention to my own body and what it is saying to me. I have to have the courage to say, "I don't eat cooked food, thank you for offering though." And if someone asks why, I'll answer and maybe help someone in the process.

I feel like I'm on a hero's journey (or heroine's journey). Hero With a Thousand Faces is a book by Joseph Campbell that explains mythological archetypes across continents and centuries. The hero faces trials that tests her mettle and always challenge her and ultimately, make her stronger. Think all the Star Wars movies or The Wizard of Oz or Titanic. (Nearly all Hollywood movies follow the Hero's Journey, by the way. Read The Writer's Journey and you'll see what I mean.)

My biggest challenges are healing my feelings toward my disabled relatives and finding the courage to be who I am without apologizing. The Way of the Public Psychic is not the easiest road to travel. Rolling eyes, disbelief, snickers, and sometimes, vicious hostility come with what I do for a living. But I know what I've got is legitimate. The hugs, the thank yous, and the atta girl's keep coming and give me the energy to do readings for people. I also meet at least one other person with intuitive gifts once a week. At some point on our planet, I hope that everyone will know they are intuitive and won't feel the need to hide it for fear of reprisal.

But back to my hero's journey. If my ultimate purpose, outside of raising my sons to be holy, healthy, and happy men, is to be a multi-published author, Academy Award winner, and raw food cheerleader/coach/chef, then being those things, behaving as if I am all those things, is my charge in life. So I consider today, June 16 to be my Day Two in my raw journey.

And about the pictures. The oatmeal at the top is really easy.

Soak one cup of oatmeal for 30 mintues. Pour the water off. Add raisins, apples, bananas, and cinnamon. Mix well. Add maple syrup if you please. Add a "mylk" if you like. If not, it tastes great without it.

Above is a nori roll with avocado. Below is a salad with an awesome lemon dressing.

I got them both at my oldest son's homeschool promotion ceremony. Lots of wonderful food there. Most of if was vegetarian. Some of the other mom's are doing the raw food challenge at the Yabba Pot right now, so there were smoothies and lots of fruit there. We had a wonderful time.

So tomorrow, I'm going to BE a raw food coach and tell you the way you begin your raw journey.

Love,

Althea

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Raw Like My Life Depends On It