Althea's Back!

Where have I been? I haven’t posted since June 1, and I’m sure everyone was wondering where I was.

I took an Internet break for a week. The barrage of information coming at me was a bit much. No social networks, no blogging, nothing except checking my email occasionally. (BTW: What did we do with our time before social networking became all the rage? I think we watched television. What did people do before televisions were in every home?) Then I started posting the Mocha Angel messages again, (which I put on the right column of my blog everyday). Then the blogging break kept going and going like a Duracell battery. Yesterday, I said, “It’s time to come back.”

I’d taken a mental health break. I stood back to get a perspective on my life. My professional life is great. I love teaching yoga and doing readings for people. But at home, things were not great. I'm referring to the stress of being a caretaker. Me and my husband are fine. I am grateful for him and our sons. But the in-laws have been a whole 'nother story.

My frustration with the dichotomy between my professional life and personal life was becoming bigger. I do believe we are all co-creating our lives. So I used a book that had helped me in the past, but I hadn’t, in all honesty, read the book from cover to cover.

I’m reading and watching:
You Can Heal Your Life: the book
You Can Heal Your Life: the audiobook
You Can Heal Your Life: the DVD

Hearing Louise Hay read her book is a big help. Listening to her conviction drives all of her points home. What I am seeing, hearing, watching, and now understanding is that changing one’s life requires a complete change in consciousness. The way a person thinks, speaks, and behaves all creates her future. I like when she said, “Think of your thoughts as a plates at a buffet. Pick the best ones that will create a great future for you.”

What You Can Heal Your Life does is move you from a victim mentality to an empowerment mentality. I have felt sorry for myself with all that I have to do each and every day for my family. It can be too much. That’s real. What’s also real is that we really can shift our outer circumstances by shifting our inner belief system. I’m taking my life back, on every level, to create one that’s even better than it was before the bottom fell out. This also supports what I get from my Angels, but gives me a road map to healing so that my personal and professional lives are a match.

With the raw food, I decided to focus on my favorite raw snacks, entrees, drinks, and desserts. For now, rather than focus on new creations, outside of dishes from Matthew Kenney’s Everyday Raw that look crazy scrumptious, I’ll focus on foods that I love. I wrote out a list and put it on my refrigerator.

Drinks
Apple-kale-lemon juice
Water w/ lemon
Mint tea
Carrot-apple juice
Watermelon juice
Tahini-banana shake
Vanilla “milk”shake
Blood
Apple-banana smoothie with greens
Pina colada

Entrees/Soups/Salad
Spinach soup
Creamy cheese
Veggie crab cakes and dill sauce
Tabbouleh
Thai salad and dressing
Potato salad and dressing
Eggplant bacon

Bok choy
Falafels
Sesame-ginger sauce and veggies
Sensuous candy (avo-mango-banana)
Avocado-tomato-lettuce-cilantro nori roll
Cashew nori roll
Cauliflower nori roll
Tacos
Baked mac and “cheese”
Spinach asian salad
Kale salad
Carrot tuna

Desserts
Apple crisp w/ sauce
Apple pie
Key lime pie
Apple cookies
Warm fudge brownie
Strawberry crepes
Cashew gelato
Heavenly chocolate

Those are all my favorites! I won’t be bored and wondering “what am I going to eat today?” I also write down what I want to make for the week, so I have a guideline to follow. Now my focus on using the raw food to transform me, and my life. Thanks for coming on this journey with me!

Love,
Althea

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Althea's Back!

Hummus and Orange Tea

Orange Tea

My son Raymond, ever the chef, wanted to make Orange Tea today. The recipe is from a kids' cookbook called World of Recipes: China. This tea is not raw, but I will try whatever he makes. He gets SO excited helping me in the kitchen. He is my official sous chef.

Orange Tea
2 cups water
2 oranges
1 tablespoon cornstarch
4 tablespoons granulated sugar (white, brown, turbinado will do. We used brown.)

Peel and cut the oranges into small bite sized pieces. Put the cornstarch and sugar in a small pot. Add 2 cups of water. Turn the heat up to high, in order to boil. Stir constantly until it boils. Add the oranges once it boils. Turn the heat down to simmer. Cook for 5 minutes. Pour everything into tea cups. Tastes great. Even Rom said it was good.

This is Raymond drinking his tea. He wanted mine, but, to quote a legendary late-night TV commercial for 1970's soul music albums, I said, "Oh, no my brother! You gots to get your own!" (Comment if you've seen that commercial!)

On May 27th, I had:
water
apple
peach
banana
apple/banana/kale smoothie
lettuce/cilantro/avo nori roll
spinach salad
lemongrass tea

On May 28th, I had:
Matt Juice
carrot juice
mint tea
apple/kale/green pepper/parsley/lemon juice
salad with house dressing
kale salad
lettuce/cilantro/avo nori roll

Zucchini Hummus

On May 29th, I had:
water
Matt Juice
apple/kale/cucumber juice
zucchini hummus with lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers
kale salad
Broccoli & snow peas with sesame-ginger sauce

On May 30th, I had:
pears
peaches
kale salsa
avocado mango salad
apple
banana, kale, apple smoothie
nori with tomatoes, cilantro, and avocado
water

On May 31st, I had:
Water
Apples
Pears
Kale salad
Lemonade
Lemonade/tea mix
Carrot tuna

I made Zucchini Hummus from Raw Food Made Easy by Jennifer Cornbleet. The two issues I had with it were the hummus was a little thin, but she did say that in the book. And it needed more seasoning. I used more garlic, salt, tahini, and paprika than called for in the book. Other zucchini hummus recipes call for olive oil, so I'll try that next time. But it is tasty, and easy.

Hummus Wrap

Zucchini Hummus

1 zucchini, peeled and chopped

2 tablespoons raw tahini

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 clove garlic

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Put everything in the food processor with the S blade attached. Process until smooth. I added the extra stuff after I tasted it. Increase the amounts to suit your taste.

My big news is that I'm joining a writers' group, ten years after I'd started one myself. My old group helped me finish Walking The Line back in 2000. I haven't been a part of an in-person group since. With all that I have going on, I have let my current novel slide. This will force me to continue. I have 187 pages/50,000 words. Wish me the best!

Love,

Althea

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Hummus and Orange Tea