Thank You 2012 and All of You

Thank you everybody for sticking with me after 5 years of blogging. And welcome to the 7 new subscribers who came on in December!

This is been a transitional year into wholeness for me. I was diagnosed with pleurisy in March. Then mistakenly believed to have had a heart attack and mild stroke. Nothing like being admitted to the cardiac wing of a hospital, stuck with the roommate from hell 5 days after your 40th birthday. I didn't have a heart attack. I did not have a stroke. Turns out I was really sick with pleurisy. I was sick for over a month.

But I turned it around. Made it to Kripalu with a much needed vacation and left with an offer to be a presenter at the Yoga Retreat for Women of Color. That was the turnaround point.

I forgave a whole bunch of needless $*&%! baggage from college. Saw my line sisters for the first time in 20 years. Ran my first 5K. Ended the year clear and energized.

I intend my 2013 will be full of peace, love, and joy because I'm full of peace, love, and joy.

And can I celebrate 5 years of being a blogger? I totally missed my November 17 anniversary!

Love and Thanks,
Althea

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Thank You 2012 and All of You

My First "Thickie"

No, a Thickie is not a sex toy. A Thickie is a smoothie that's thick, and meant to be a meal replacer. It's the brainchild of Katherine Natalia of GreenThickies.com. I found this by chance. I was reading an old email from Heather Pace of Sweetly Raw about her Caramel Apple Cheesecake, and at the very bottom she says, "I'm doing a 7 day Green Thickie Challenge."

I was like, "What the heck is a Green Thickie?" So off I went to explore this intriguing concept. Katherine's site is dedicated to both Green Smoothies and Green Thickies. Her personal story is here: How I lost 56 pounds on a Green Smoothie Diet.  

Finding this site was right on time. I'm in the middle of a modified fast. Liquid for breakfast and dinner, and a solid lunch. I'm juicing and doing smoothies and feeling great. I'll decide on Sunday if I'll do an all-liquid fast for a short period. I was worried if I could a fast again. I haven't been able to successfully fast since 2009. And then into my life comes Green Thickies.

I made Katherine's Healthy Apple Pie Thickie. This is considered a Dessert Thickie. Dessert or not, I had all the ingredients in my kitchen, so that's what I made! The picture above shows all ingredients except the raisins. The only thing I added were pre-soaked chia seeds. The recipe serves 2. I drank it all. Let me tell you, I am very full. And it was tasty. Like a pureed oatmeal and fruit breakfast.

I plan on making more Thickies, and sharing my experiences with you all. In the meantime, try this one, and show Katherine some love!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Non Dairy Milk (oat, rice, soya, almond, hemp, coconut drink or raw nut or seed milk)
• 1 Banana
• 2 Apples
• ¼ Cup Pecans
• ½ Cup dates (or any other dried fruit)
• 1 Cup Oats (use raw oat groats if following a raw food diet or oatmeal if you don’t have a powerful blender)
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon Allspice/Mixed Spice

Instructions

1. Blend the ingredients in the order listed.
2. Blend the ingredients a few at a time so that your blender can cope with the work, unless you’ve got a high powered blender, then you might be able to add them all in at once.
3. If it gets too thick, add more water as necessary.
4. If your blender has made the smoothie too warm, you can either cool it down in the fridge or freezer, or add some ice cubes or frozen fruit to it (You may need to add more water as this will thicken it further).

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My First "Thickie"

Queen Afua Interview, Part 6

Queen Afua and my husband, Rom Wills

The last question – I could talk to you all day. I’ve read all the books – I remember reading Heal Thyself in 1999 when it was the dark green version – so I’m a for real Queen Afua advocate. So when I read that book I was like “this is the bomb." My now husband and I were in my apartment on my couch and he said, "I have never seen you read a book like that before." I was all into it. You should see my copy of Sacred Woman, it’s all falling apart (Queen Afua – I’m so proud of you … because if it looks all fresh, that means you haven’t been working it)– it’s tore up. You signed it in D.C., we met twice (I look forward to hugging you again).  Do you have any one piece of knowledge that you want to share with my readers – most of them are Black women, but I have people of all races, both sexes, anything you want to share?

Yes, my work has been primarily with the Africans in America, the Caribbean, Hispanic beings and it has been primarily 75% women – but when I started this journey it was really for both women and men.

But who came forth? The primary healers - the women came and they would go back and they would heal their families. And so I went that, the wave of the wind, that was the way the current went.

But global healing shows up in Heal Thyself. When I was writing about the globe I was thinking about all the people, because we all share the same air and if the air is toxic, then we’re all going to be poisoned by it – we must purify the air. And we all share the topsoil that grows the fruits and vegetables with not all of their nutrients in them so if the topsoil is depleted we all will suffer. And we all share the same water, bathing in it, drinking it. We share it and so if the waters are not pure we will suffer. And so we are on one Earth and we must begin to take on a holistic lifestyle so that we can have more reverence and more respect for nature. 

Nature provides for all of us, no matter our religion or walk of life. We need to understand this and tap into the power that is in nature. So I say to all of us, let’s give reverence and honor and gratitude to the air, the wind, the water, the earth, the sun and give thanks. Because without any one of those elements we are no more. But if we embrace all of them through our healing and cleansing, then we are made whole again. We are made healthy again and we are made into a humanity that is truly a humanity that cares one for the other. Then there will be war no more. Our children will not suffer from violence in the home or in the street, and we will not fight because someone is one religion or a next. Gender – there’s a battle going on and I know as we heal ourselves, that peace will reign supreme here and abroad. Globally I wish wellness for all who hear this message and that they take on this walk, this mighty, powerful transformative walk of wellness to save humanity. It is necessary to raise our frequency.

Thank you, Queen Afua for your time and gift to the world! 
www.queenafua.com

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Queen Afua Interview, Part 6

Queen Afua Interview, Part 5

The next question is just about children, a lot of my readers have children – what advice do you have for parents to raise healthier, holier, happier children?

I learned a lot from having circles of women. I have a granddaughter that I helped to raise through the first son. And I saw her getting angry when she was 1 ½ years old – and I remember that the women in the circle crying and they were 30, 40 and 50. And that crying started when they were little babies. I remember they would tell me when I would ask them, so when did this crying begin. They would say when they were 5 – they would go into their subconscious and they would pull up the time – when they were 4, when they were 7 so I was looking out for that and I saw that anger come in at a year and a half and then I began to hug her a lot and I let her rest on me tremendously and then one day when she was 3 and a half, she became so loving and so extra sweet and I know she had parents love her, my daughter and her great grandmother – it's a lot of love around her but I still saw some characteristics start coming out and I said, "Ooh we have to heal that one, catch that quick."

Treat our children as if they are their own healers and tell them they have power inside of them all the time. One of the things I would tell my granddaughter, I would ask –“Who are you?” She was 3 and a half then, maybe 4 she said, “I am a healer and I am healing myself.” Once, when I was not doing so well, I went in my backyard of my mother’s house and I laid down on the backyard. I rested on the soil and on the grass to let the earth pull. I took all my juices, my herbs, my bath I did all of that and then I laid down to get that pull and that magnetic energy and she came out and asked me how am I doing and I said I’m healing myself so she went and got some plants and some grass and some dirt and she put it on all the areas she thought I needed. Around my face, on my chest, on my legs and then she sat in a cross-legged position and began to speak in tongues. “Close your eyes,” she said. Then she got some clay, she got my clay, she put that on me, I was filled with the dirt and the grass – all that. What I realize is that she tapped into her inner healer.

I see that children have so much power and we have to raise them like that. Because when they go into the world and they start going to school and life is beating them, they have to know they have the power to change their condition, the power of their mind and their word and their spirit. Teach our children their power, but you can only do that if you have been empowered yourself.

For parents I have a chapter I put into Heal Thyself to update it – I added an extra piece on how to heal your children holistically. They get mumps, measles and chickenpox are all unnecessary - its just toxicity and flesh food and junk food, and processed food– so feed them healthy organic food, become a food coop member it wont be too expensive.

If you feed them high-energy food, then they will not get sick as a normal child and their minds will be very sharp. And they’ll be able to see through people. They will not be hoodwinked and brought into directions that they need not go. They will be protected when they are away from you and then give them nature. Massage them and put them in baths and talk with them. Visit with them and sweat with them, make them your companion of wellness.

Final Part: Global Healing ◦

Queen Afua Interview, Part 5

Queen Afua Interview, Part 4

I want to go on to “City of Wellness”. In the “City of Wellness”, you call it “an urgent call for humanity to reclaim their 'healthonomics.'” Can you elaborate on that?

It’s really saying that the people’s souls are starving, for balance. Because economics could be the form of shells or crystals, dollars and coins, barter - this is economics, so it’s all coming from inside. Economics...  prosperity...all come from a prosperous soul. Impoverishment is coming forth from an impoverished soul. So when you are filled, when you are charged, when you are supported – then you begin to birth your prosperity.

So what I have witnessed is that as one begins to heal and stays committed to their wellness, they start to become very creative and they’re able to tap in and hear that inner voice tell them, “This is how you can make your living, this is how you ought to make your living, this is who you’re to speak with, this is who you’re to connect with, this is what you are to study.” 

We have these formulas of life that speak to us if our frequency is raised up high enough. And so it’s come to a time that we must raise our frequency. And frequency and economics is one in the same. Everything is based on energy. Stones have energy, plants have energy, air has energy. Your voice has energy, colors have energy – all of this is energy. Now some energy may be very low, and some energy may be medium and some may be high – optimal high energy.

When we go to a concert to hear someone sing or dance, or play an instrument, we’re going because we want our frequency to be charged, we want to be lifted. So sometimes we’ll pay, we’ll pay everything we have to pay to get that charge. And that’s the frequency being raised. So when you heal yourself, you begin to elevate your frequency and you begin to attract the prosperity and all that supports that prosperous soul to come into its fullness.

Wow…okay I never thought of it like that…

You know where your thoughts come from? Because I don’t have to think about it. I have been getting up in the morning for 25 years at 4 o’clock. And its not my own idea, I mean I read about it years ago that rising up in those hours – in those melanin hours you receive direct information from the most high – whatever name we call the most high. And so you get this super charged, unique information that helps people – that is your quest. Or whatever it is, it can be your purpose, what is your purpose – you rise up at 4 o clock and when you hear it. In those hours that I heard Heal Thyself and I was guided, I heard Sacred Woman, I was up everyday at that time listening to the ancestors, listening to the gates and what they were saying to me and then I would be up in those hours in the City of Wellness and I would say 7 Kitchens of Consciousness? So what about kitchens? I would be asking questions like you’re asking me. And I’d say “really?” And I’d have this back and forth conversation expressing, “Oh that’s powerful, Oh give thanks!” 

I would get excited, it’s now here 5 o clock in the morning – and I’d be like oh my goodness that is wonderful and so oh just give thanks! And so that’s what’s been going on for years and then now Overcoming I didn’t even know the name of the book even for Overcoming was first it was “The Voice of the Womb” - that was 14 years ago. And then it became “Womb Wisdom.” Then it became “Womb Wellness” and then really just last year it downloaded, I remember it was around October I got a download of Overcoming an Angry Vagina – I said “What!?” I’m having this inner dialogue of spirit. I said, “Why is that?” And Spirit replied,  “Because the women are hurting and hurt that is unaddressed translates into anger and rage. If you help them to overcome then they will be free of those issues from their 3 womb centers.” I said “3 womb centers?” 

So I’m getting this information from - they call it the upper room? The higher consciousness and so that’s how it all comes – that’s how everything comes that we want if we want to be liberated, the liberation is inside of us. If we want freedom, it’s inside of us. If we want wellness – it’s inside of us. Everything that we want in this world is for our best and our highest good and for the part that reminds us, it’s inside of us. So the visions, that’s where they come from – from inside.

Coming up: Queen Afua's best advice for raising children.


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Queen Afua Interview, Part 4

Queen Afua Interview, Part 3

What is your best advice for women – again I know this is not just a simple question or short question, but do you have just one or two pieces of just really best advice for women to heal their wounds or maintain this good health?

Yes, well I’ve just written a book. It’s the book I’ve been carrying around for 14 years. None of my works come out, like it doesn’t just show up. I walk with it for years and I listen to the women and the women tell me their cries and their hurts, their disappointments and I record it – it’s etched in my soul. And I walk around with their stories in me and I have to place them so that others may heal from their stories. The book that just came out in March in London, it came out – first in London and then it came out here in June and then in the states. And the name of the book is Overcoming an Angry Vagina --Journey to Womb Wisdom.

Inside of this work I talk of all the women, having all the women together, a universal womb because all the women in the whole world are suffering from some type of womb affliction, womb pain, womb suppression, toxic womb conditioning, toxic relationships that have entered into the womb and so we have to heal. So what I have gathered are formulas to help us to recover. Because I look at the womb as 3 centers: the womb is the mind- what we think, we create, we birth. The womb of the heart – what we feel, we create, we birth. What we think and what we feel, we birth through our creation center – our physical womb.

And so many women are birthing now tumors and that’s where the pain is and that’s where the anger is, the disappointment, the self-desecration of the abuse that we have absorbed and it’s inside of that tumor, it’s inside of that heavy bleeding and clotting. It’s inside of the babies that don’t come full term because the tumor outgrows them. It’s inside of the women that have had a hysterectomy. And this book is for women who’ve had hysterectomies as well because you still have a spiritual womb center that must be taken care of so that the keloids do not grow and fester. You must recover. 

Even if you had a hysterectomy, it’s not over because you had a hysterectomy– it will manifest and go to other parts of the body if we do not heal our heart and begin to take a forgiveness walk of ourselves, all our relationships. If we do not begin to speak it out. The women of my mother and my grandmother they will say something like this- if there was incest, they say I will go to my grave with this secret. And when you keep that secret inside, it festers and it can cause cancer - physical and mental, emotional cancer. So this is a platform, “Overcoming” is a platform so that we can begin to talk about it. To cry it through, to forgive through it and so that we can birth our purpose. Because you know it’s all connected, what are we birthing on earth as women – we’re birthing and what are we bringing, attracting to ourselves in our relationships? And so we don’t wait for anyone to heal us, we have to heal ourselves.

This is not a blame book either – it’s a book of redemption, healing, peace, of learning from all of our lessons so we can begin to attract, conceive and birth healthy visions, healthy relationships, organic babies. And so you get a treasure chest with it, the treasure chest is as you birth yourself and overcome, you’re taking nature as your guide using the five elements to heal – air, fire, water, earth and spirit that you’ll begin to be in the 4^th portal: birthing your purpose. It will begin to come out of you because we have purpose, but we sometimes we abort our purpose, sometimes we give our purpose a full hysterectomy because we have no faith it will ever happen, or sometimes it won’t go full term.

Or sometimes we can’t even begin to conceive it because we can not believe that it could happen, that we could possibly and the way the world is bring forth our purpose. But I say that we can and that we must if we’re to be whole at all. Because we have all been given a gift of purpose and vision but for whatever different things that have happened to us we become short-circuited, and then we shut down. But it’s time to open up the womb and let the joy flow through. And so this is the work for the women that they can take the book and study the formulas and form the circles and do the work and heal themselves. 

Coming Up: Reclaiming our "healthonomics." ◦

Queen Afua Interview, Part 3

Queen Afua Interview, Part 2

So my next question is about Sacred Woman.  I’ve gone through it myself. A friend of mine and I went through it about 4 years ago (2005) together. For those who are not familiar with it, and I know it is comprehensive, but can you share a little bit about what it all encompasses?

Sacred Woman is a book to help to balance out the mental and emotional part of the woman. The key here is to awaken the healer within. And in order to awaken the healer within, she has to have tools. The woman is the primary healer caretaker in her home. She’s living in the home, her children in the home, her mate is in the home, elders in the home – and so she is the one who can heal everyone. And there is a prayer that was on the temple walls thousands of years ago – and I’ll say it in the English translation is- “I am the woman who lighteth the darkness, I have come to light the darkness. It is lightened. I am there for those who weep, who hide their faces, who sunk down, they looked upon me then, I am woman.”

Those who are sunk down, those who are heavy laden – her position is to help to heal them. But in order for her to be the healer, she has to do what? “Heal Thyself” – my first book. You cannot give what you don’t have. You have to be fully charged to be a healer, to be an active healer so the healer doesn’t burn out. So that is what the book is teaching women, healing tools. Taking it from ancient principles and bringing it to the present day, now is the time. So that if you study the text – and you can not read it like you’re going to memorize it -- you read it as a reference, you read it as inspiration, you read it as a bonding with other women who are striving to wake up that healer within and so we touch and we move into 9 aspects of the woman.

And we open the Womb at the beginning – what she births and so we have to do our womb healing. So I have the beginning of the dance of the womb, and womb tonics and womb circles and womb testimonies. And the womb healing scroll based on ancient wisdom.

And then we move ourselves into the Word, the power of the word and what you speak is your medicine- it can destroy or it can build – the word. And it takes us into Love, which is Sacred Relationship with yourself. That’s the gateway of Het-Heru – they’re all based on gateways. Then there’s Sekhemet – the fiery, lion headed healer, who will flush away and burn away instant confusion. There is feminine guardian Ma’at which a whole civilization was based on Ma’at. That we all would be functioning in harmony, peace, reciprocity, justice and truth.

And our goal is to get your sovereignty back as a whole, powerful, dynamic woman. And then there are works and activities and spiritual observances that you do – 14 of them – and you do that at the course of every week or the course of every month- you can focus in on one aspect of yourself and these aspects actually are part of the anatomy – they’re physical, they’re the anatomy of the woman, the Sacred Woman gate.

Sekhemet would be the blood, and Auset would be her consciousness, Bes would be her digestive system moving forward, and Tehuti would be the throat – and so these are different parts of the body, the body members and so those members – in order for you to be a whole woman, they all have to come together into harmony, into Ma’at, they’re supposed to come together as one. And ultimately they will lead us to Nefer Atum, the lotus woman who sends that sweet aroma throughout the world and is able to transform everyone like a mystic queen that she is by her very nature. Even if we come to the gates as wounded women and we do, as hurt women, broken women, that we can mend and we can heal ourselves through the ancients helping us, reconnecting to the source, the beginning, the root of our culture. 

Coming Up: Queen Afua's best advice for women  ◦

Queen Afua Interview, Part 2

Queen Afua Interview, Part 1

On October 11, 2010, Queen Afua was kind enough to do a phone interview with me. The delay in getting this interview posted is solely on me. The interview was extensive. It will be broken into several posts.

For those of you who don't know her, here is a part of her biography:

Queen Afua is an internationally renowned best selling author, holistic wellness entrepreneur, and highly sought after natural health practitioner. She is committed to informing and inspiring global wellness through practice, products, and teaching. With a surplus of 35 years experience, Queen Afua has built a wellness empire that includes The Queen Afua Wellness Institute, The City of Wellness Society, and her signature Heal Thyself and Sacred Spirit product lines. She has published four critically acclaimed books: Heal Thyself, Sacred Woman, City of Wellness, Man Heal Thyself, and Overcoming An Angry Vagina. www.queenafua.com.

Can you share some of your story with my readers?

Absolutely. I was age 7 when I started on my journey. And I was a very sick child from age 7 to 17 and by the time I reached age 17  I had chronic asthma and the doctors really didn’t have any more potent form of medication for me, so the next step would have been for me to get a respirator. I also had eczema from head to toe and allergies and sneezing and I was allergic to so many things in nature. So with that, I had chronic PMS and arthritis and headaches that sometimes would last for hours and sometimes days. So I was truly in need, as Fannie Lou Hamer says I was really sick and tired of being sick and tired. I was seeking another way. And so I did – I was invited to go on a healing retreat and I met other people on the path that I didn’t know even existed and they talked about herbs and using plants to heal and internal hygiene and food is medicine and exercise to heal.

Well, when I got off that bus to come into this retreat to change my life, nature was all about me and the hay fever kicked in and the asthma kicked in and the allergies and the scratching – it all kicked in and I went into a moment of panic. And at that very moment I heard an inner voice give me instruction and that was to eat grapefruits, lemons and oranges. It was my first time really hearing the voice from within speak to me. And that rest of the day I drank water and I did that throughout the day. I sat in front of a fireplace and the fireplace (I considered that) was my first sweat lodge. 

And that day of all my juices and my water – that was my first fast. I wasn’t aware of it, I was just being guided. And that morning when I woke up, mucous came out of my body for about an hour – my nose, my mouth, my eyes – and I realized later on, that was my first detox. And that day I listened to all of these practitioners talk about all of the different alternatives – holistically how to heal the body. I remember meeting Dr. Johnny Moore – master herbalist for over 50 years – we really adopted each other, he became my spiritual grandfather and we journeyed together as I learned more about healing. He was a great inspiration to me and I carry him in all of my books – I call out his name in all of the last 3 books – he’s now an ancestor. 

And so from that point on, I took one book back home with me that I remember and that was Dick Gregory’s “Cooking with Mother Nature”. And his book was my Bible to my wellness and I met Dr. Alvina Fulton from his book and that was his mentor – she got him into wellness. And then later on as I started to study, I went to Chicago and I met with her. And just having a vision of this woman working with plants and herbs and natural medicine, she inspired me to do what she did. She’s an ancestor now and so I give thanks to have met her. 

And so on this journey I opened up a wellness center – I studied as a holistic health practitioner, became certified as a holistic health practitioner, a Pilates practitioner, a lay herbalist through Dr. Johnny Moore’s tutelage, a lay midwife and a Hopi yoga instructor because I always was into movement – I was a dancer, I was a artist as a teenager and it translated to wellness and so I’ve been on the journey. Ever since healing myself, I heal myself daily – I work on myself a bit every day and every day I help others to get on the path of wellness so they may have recovery as I did.

Wow that’s awesome. And all of this stuff I kinda know already because I read all your books, but I want to introduce you to the people who might not know you so they can buy your books.

Thank you for that.

Absolutely - thank you! So you answered actually my 3^rd question which was who were your primary teachers and you already said who they were so I’ll definitely get that in the interview and give them thanks. So can you tell me a little bit about how you – I know you eventually transitioned to vegetarianism then to vegan, I think you’ve gone raw vegan somewhat – but where are you with that? And how did you transition?

That weekend, I became a vegetarian. 

And how old were you then?

About 17 years old.  I just went straight into the vegetarian lifestyle. I let the chicken go, I let the beef go, I let the fried food, the sugar, the fast food, the processed foods and I made everything from scratch. I grew my own sprouts and I grew my own wheatgrass and I made my own bread and my own cookies – everything I did from scratch. That was then. So where I am now – I sent my son Supernova Slom  he loved the book – his book came out called The Remedy this April (2010).

All 3 of my children were raised as vegetarians. I sent him away to get him off of New York City streets so the streets would not take his life. I saw danger. So he went away for a year and he went to school there in South Carolina and he would hang around at the college campuses in that area. And a lot of young/older people would come and ask him for spiritual counseling because he’s my son so I was always teaching my children whatever they would listen to. So everything I ever taught him he started to activate it, more then when he separated from me, than we were together – he was more rebellious then. And so we became really great friends on this journey during that year.

When he came back, to New York, he was carrying around this giant gallon of green juice and I said “What’s that all about?” And he says “I’m a chlorophyllion” and I said, “Chlorophyllion? So what’s a chlorophyllion?” He said (and this came from his own spirit), “It’s someone who takes 90% chlorophyll foods which are green foods, sun foods, vegetables, and 10% fruits and nuts and seeds and whole grains and all of that. And that really hit me because I raised my children off a lot of green food and green juice and no matter what would happen, I would give them a green drink every single day so they would have spiritual protection and their psyche would be as charged as possible and their immune systems would be protected. So it resonated, this chlorophyllion life, and I began to walk it. 

So I consider myself now a chlorophyllion, that’s what I am. And I live mostly on that, I vibrate on that. And I heal – I heal from grass, be around the trees, but I really ingest it and that protects my immune system and it keeps me with extraordinary energy, my thinking is quick, my reflexes are quick. I can change and shift my energy very quickly without stressing about it when its needed. So it has really fortified me, this chlorophyllion life, so that’s what I’m living. 

Coming Up: Part 2: Sacred Woman ◦

Queen Afua Interview, Part 1

My Babies!

I've imported all posts from "Healing My Sons" to this one. So many people ask me about my kids and how they are doing. It makes more sense to talk about them here. If you go to the "Autism" label on the right side of the blog, posts about them will show up. This is them on November 27 at the National Aquarium.

And speaking of them, Raymond had another seizure on Saturday morning. This was his first one since February 2011. We're going back to Johns Hopkins for a re-evaluation. I'll let you all know what happens.

We've been juicing from Drew Canole's fitlife.tv. I think he's redesigned the site because I can't find the recipes anymore. Here are the ones I have made:

Morning Call: 4 kale leaves, 1/2 broccoli with stems, 1/2 head of cabbage. (I add 1 whole peeled lemon. Makes it go down a whole lot easier.)

Waldorf Salad: 2 celery ribs, 2 green apples

Full Immunity: 2 cloves garlic, thumb size ginger, handful parsley, 3 carrots, 1 apple (surprisingly tasty) 

And this is what I've been eating lately. Harmony Spinach Salad, and a salad with Roasted Tofu.

This one is cauliflower sushi, spinach, and and a salad with Body Ecology Diet Dressing (3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt). 

I am also thinking of moving this entire operation to Wordpress. I want to intergrate mochaangels.com with a blog, making it an all-in-one site. If anyone has any experience with this, please share it with me.

Love,

Althea

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My Babies!

Vegetarian Black Bean Chili

 

I found a Black Bean Chili recipe here: Epicurious

This was a hit in my home! It's an easy, quick dinner.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1 2/3 cups coarsely chopped red bell peppers (about 2 medium)
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 15- to 16-ounce cans black beans, drained, 1/2 cup liquid reserved (I used 1/2 cup of vegetable broth instead)
• 1 16-ounce can tomato sauce

optional:

• Chopped fresh cilantro
• Sour cream (vegan if you want)
• Grated Monterey Jack cheese (vegan if you want)
• Chopped green onions

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, bell peppers, and garlic; sauté until onions soften, about 10 minutes. Mix in chili powder, oregano, cumin, and cayenne; stir 2 minutes. Mix in beans, 1/2 cup reserved bean liquid, and tomato sauce. Bring chili to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until flavors blend and chili thickens, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Ladle chili into bowls. Top with optional cilantro, sour cream, grated cheese, and green onions separately.

Love,
Althea

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Vegetarian Black Bean Chili

Key Lime Pie

I made this Key Lime Pie two days ago. I was inspired by Stacy Stowers (aka The Raw Food Nanny).
I was looking up her Happy Shake and found an article on Shape Magazine online that featured five of her favorite recipes. I happened to have most of the ingredients for a Key Lime Pie on hand, so I made this first.

My only change was that I used agave instead of honey because I already had some. Me, Raymond, and my husband (the ultimate tester) all love this pie. It's simple to make. The only labor intensive part is peeling and juicing the limes. Other than that, it's a "pour-into-food processor-and-blender" recipe.

Enjoy!

Key Lime Pie (RV, GF)
Ingredients:

For basic nut crust:
3/4 c. raw almonds

1 c. raw walnuts

10 medjool dates (1 c. pitted and packed down)

Pinch of salt

For pie filling:
3/4 c. fresh squeezed lime juice

1 1/2 c. avocados

1/2 c. raw honey (I used 1/2 cup agave)

1/8 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. coconut oil

2 tbsp. lecithin

Directions:
For basic nut crust:
Process ingredients in a food processor using the “S” blade until ingredients stick together. Don’t overprocess or you will make nut butter. Press into pie plate. Chill while preparing your pie filling.  For pie filling:
Blend in your blender all ingredients except the coconut oil and the lecithin. Now add your coconut oil and lecithin. Blend again until creamy. Pour into your pie crust and chill for 6-8 hours or until firm. Decorate with kiwi fruit and/or berries, if desired. Makes about 8 servings.

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Key Lime Pie

The Easiest Smoothie in the World

2 peeled oranges, 2 peeled bananas, 2 cups of water, put them all in a blender. Blend until smoothie. Drink and enjoy.

Cute kid not included :-).

Love,
Althea

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The Easiest Smoothie in the World

Happy Thanksgiving!

I ran the Y of Central Maryland 5K Turkey Trot this morning with a time of 51:52. Yea!

Have a wonderful day with your family and friends!

Love,
Althea ◦

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gratitude, Forgiveness, and a 5k Race

Off the top: www.mochaangels.com is LIVE!!! Yes, it's here. The site is basic...a work in progress. But it's LIVE! YEA!

I'm back doing intuitive readings publicly, so if you want one, head on over there. They start out as little as $35.

And the Yoga Retreat for Women of Color is coming May 17-19, 2013 at Kripalu!!
I was so happy to see my little face there listed as a presenter! Click here: Yoga Retreat for Women of Color. I am so grateful! So who is coming? LOL!

We (Maya, Gail, Robin, and myself) also need press for this event, especially local and national radio interviews, so if you or someone you know has a microphone, let me know.

Guess what I'm doing on Thanksgiving (aka Black Thursday)?

I've been training since August 25th. I was sidelined with a sinus infection for 2 weeks, but I got back on the horse. The infection did not slide down into my lungs, which was my biggest concern. I did all types of lung/chest/heart chakra healing to keep that puppy at bay. They all worked.

On Sunday, my family and I walked the 5K course together so that I was familiar with it ahead of time. Yes, I got intimidated. But this is what I've worked for, so onward!!

Based on my previous post about forgiveness, I decided to do a colon cleanse. In the spirit of physical release. And I wanted to see this mucoid plaque I've been reading about for years!

Mucoid plaque is gunk that lines up on the colon wall after years of crappy food, hormones, stress, etc. I did this fast/cleanse for 5 days. I hated every second of it.
The plaque came out the morning of Day 5. It was EXACTLY how it looks in all the photos I've seen: rubbery - like strips of a busted tire; solid, thick, and shaped like colon wall. I started to take pictures, but I knew ya'll would not want to see that. Search "mucoid plaque" and you'll see the pictures.

I'm I glad I did it? Yes. Would I do it again? Never. I was hungry, bitchy, hungry, annoyed, and hungry (did I say that already?). Then I thought, "Is this stuff I'm drinking making my poop look rubbery?" Some would say yes. But was I more regular afterward? Yes. However, I'll stick to using food as medicine.

Last, here's more forgiveness mantras for you all. These are from Catherine Ponder's books.

To say daily:

 

"I fully and freely forgive anyone or anything that needs forgiveness in my past or present."

 

To gain release from troublesome situations:

"I release this situation (or these people) to the perfect outworking of the Christ Consciousness (or insert name you prefer) now. I now loose and let them go completely."

When the same problem re-occurs:

"I fully and freely forgive you. I loose you and let you go. All ill feeling has been cleared up between us now and forever."

All inclusive forgiveness prayer:

"I forgive everything, everyone, every experience, every memory of the past or present that needs forgiveness. I forgive positively everyone. God is love, and I am forgiven and governed by God's love alone. God's love is now adjusting my life and its problems. Realizing this, I abide in peace."

 

If you want forgiveness from others:

 

"I am now forgiven by everything and everyone of the past and present that needs to forgive me. I am now positively forgiven by everyone."

Love,
Althea

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Gratitude, Forgiveness, and a 5k Race

Forgiveness: Making Peace With the Past



 Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Eta Xi Chapter, University of Georgia

Diversity Tenfold, Spring 1991

Front Row, from left: Shaleen, Ernita, Kerri, Octavia, Val

Back Row, from left: Denise, Althea, Jan, Ondra, Mary



 

On June 21, 2012, after driving 15 hours from Baltimore to Atlanta with 2 children in the car and washing my mid-back length locs even after said exhausting drive, complete with a queasy stomach, I had what you'd call a “moment.”  

I had come home to Atlanta to see my ailing maternal grandmother who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. I’d also come to see my Line Sisters, most of whom I hadn’t seen since 1992. That is why I was queasy. Nervous as could be, to be honest. And in my vulnerable exhaustion, I flashed back to a would-be confrontation from 1991 in a sorority meeting between me and “Soror Georgia” (a pseudonym). Georgia was the self-appointed "Guardian of the Gate." If you didn't meet her standards, for whatever reason, be it your rep, weight, character, hair, sexual preference, image, she would try her best to break you. And this was after you pledged.

Soror Georgia had called me out, not by name, but by insinuation. In the moment, I wanted to drop my bookbag and purse, take off my earrings, leap high, real high, over seated sorors and proceed to beat that bitch with my shoe until she lay broken on the floor. Instead, I swallowed my emotions and walked out the door. That was not the only time me and Georgia had a run-in. I had 'disappointed' her, and trust me, girlfriend let me know it.

Twenty-one years later that moment came rushing back as if it had happened five minutes prior, complete with me delivering the ass-whoopin’ of my dreams. I spent the next hour having a one-way conversation (okay, screaming match) with a 21-year-old ghost. 

 

I realized a few things that night:

• I had let one person ruin what should have been a beautiful sorority experience.
• I had spent 20+ years avoiding most people from undergraduate school.
• I had let an overall negative college experience deter me from maintaining a relationship with my Line Sisters, none of whom I had a beef with.
• I'd written a novel based on my college life, but hadn't healed from any of it.
• I needed to forgive others.
• I needed to forgive myself.

As nervous as I was, I knew that seeing my Line Sisters again was the beginning of what I call “making peace with the past.”



 Back Row, from left: Ondra, Mary, Shaleen, Jan, Althea

Front Row, from left: Octavia, Val

 

I LOVED my reunion with 6 out of other 9 women. (Ernita is MIA like I was, Kerri lives in New England, and Denise was in Paris at the time with her family.) I had the BEST time. It was all love as everyone wanted to hear about what I’d been doing the past 20 years. I remember sitting in Val’s kitchen saying to myself, “What was I thinking? I missed out on their weddings, the birth of children, career changes, stuff only women understand….for what?”

When I came back home, I began the needed work of forgiveness. Now I’ve been actively, working on this daily for months. I did forgive the men and women with whom I was angry. But I also forgave myself. When you are pointing a finger at other people, three fingers are pointing back at you. The deeper the pain and betrayal, the greater the need to forgive.  

Here’s a mantra I’d got from watching Oprah’s Lifeclass earlier this year.  

“I forgive you for not being the way I wanted you to be. I forgive you and I set you free.” 

Toward myself, I tweaked it to read: 

“I forgive myself for not being the way I wanted to be. I forgive myself, and I set that behavior free.”

Forgiveness is not about condoning others behavior, nor justifying your own behavior. It’s about setting yourself free from pain so you can live out the highest vision of your life.

 

Coming up: Forgiveness, Making Peace with Past, Part 2

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Forgiveness: Making Peace With the Past

Mango Sorbet and Nut Milks

Mango Sorbet

This Mango Sorbet from Ani's Raw Food Desserts is a winner. And it's simplicity is even better.

This is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO easy! It's very kid-friendly to make and to eat!

My version wasn't as frozen as in the book photo, but darn, it was perfectly ripe, sweet, and ideal for a hot summer day! 

 

And you can see that I'm making stuff from Raw Food Real World. I'm working through fears this year. I'd asked Matthew and Sarma if I could blog through their book last year. It's August of 2012 and I'm just now doing it. I'm taking my time. No rushing. No pressure. I look at the simple stuff and make it.

 

That also means I can't always share recipes. Publishers have told me they prefer bloggers to limit recipe sharing to five recipes from a book.

 

Nut milks and shakes are pretty basic. Once you know the formula, you can add to it.

 

Nut milk basic recipe:

1 cup nuts

4 cups water

 

Soak the nuts for 4-8 hours.

Blend in a high-powered blender.

Strain and squeeze in a nut milk bag or cheesecloth.

 

From there you can add sweeteners, coconut oil, or whatever you like.

 

 

Milkshake Basic Recipe:

http://theveganmochaangel.blogspot.com/2010/07/vanilla-milkshake.html

I wrote this two years ago. It's the vanilla milkshake from the book. I make this at least once a day. That is how yummy, vanilla-ee, sweet, refreshing it is.

 

Again, once you got the formula, you can make a chocolate shake, strawberry shake, peanut butter shake, etc.

 

Enjoy!

 

Love,

Althea

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Mango Sorbet and Nut Milks

Warm Cherry Tomato and Corn Salad

From Raw Food Real World.
Holy Goodness...this is darn fantastic food. Two thumbs WAY up!

Warm Cherry Tomato and Corn Salad

    3 ears fresh corn, husked
    3 pints small cherry, teardrop, or grape tomatoes, sliced in half
    4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
    1 tablespoon lemon juice
    2 small or 1 large head butter lettuce, or other soft greens
    3 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram
    1 cup crumbled Fluffy Macadamia Feta (page 288)
    Coarse sea salt
    Freshly ground black pepper

1. Cut the kernels from the corn cobs and place in a medium bowl with the tomatoes. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and toss to coat. Spread the corn and tomatoes on a Teflex-lined dehydrator tray and dehydrate at 115 degrees for 1 hour.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the lettuce leaves and toss to coat. Add the corn, tomatoes, marjoram, feta, and salt and pepper.

Fluffy Macadamia Feta

    4 cups raw macadamia nuts, soaked 1 hour or more
    1/4 cup lemon juice
    2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
    1 green onion, white and 1 inch green, minced
    2 teaspoons sea salt

  In a food processor, thoroughly grind all the ingredients, but leave it a bit
  chunky. Drop heaping teaspoonfuls onto Teflex-lined dehydrator trays and
  dehydrate at 115°F for 4 to 6 hours, or until dry on the outside and still
  tender on the inside.

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Warm Cherry Tomato and Corn Salad

Two Green Smoothies

Don't hate on my overly ripe banana! That's how I like them...with lots of brown spots. (I just wanted to get that out the way! LOL!)

These are two green smoothies from Green Smoothie Revolution. I can't give out the exact recipes, but the first one, as you see has kale, banana, ginger, apple, and water.

This one is watermelon, banana, lemon, and romaine. This is surprisingly sweet. I think it's the lemon that gives it a kick. I would definitely make this again before summer is over.

Love,

Althea

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Two Green Smoothies

Black Rice and Fitness Chicks

Black Rice w/ Pineapples and Avocados

I had never heard of black rice before I read about it in the April/May issue of Living Without Magazine (the mag for people with allergies and food sensitivities).

From the magazine: "Striking Chinese black rice, also called "Forbidden Rice" because lore says it was reserved for emperors to promote longevity while common folks were literally forbidden from eating it, contains especially high levels of antioxidants, including the same anthocyanins found in blueberries, according to scientists at Louisiana State University Agricultural Center."

Wegmans sells it in its bulk section. Two cups runs about $2.50.

I followed the recipe in the magazine. I added coconut milk, pineapple, and avocado. It was okay.

No disrespect to the author ("Bowled Over": Wake up to a gluten free breakfast made of whole grains by Matthew Kadey), but I think my version is WAY tastier:

Black Rice Cereal
2 cups water
1 cup uncooked black rice
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
non-dairy milk of choice
apples
bananas
raisins

• Place 2 cups of water, rice, cinnamon, and ginger into a medium-size saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until all the water has been absorbed, about 30 minutes.
• Stir in honey and vanilla. Let it cool for 5 minutes.
• To serve, add milk, raisins, sliced apples and bananas. This makes a very tasty breakfast. I use this recipe for oatmeal and millet as well.
• The only thing with black rice is it will stick to your teeth. So look in the mirror before you leave the house!

Also, a few months ago, I catered my first event. Fitness Chicks, a local Baltimore group, asked me to make vegan food for one of their meetings. I did a "Southern Dinner Party." Christina, that night's host, who was very gracious, made a picnic basket:

 I made potato salad:

 Macaroni and "Cheese", Kale Salad, Buffalo Tofu & Ranch Dip, Barbecue Beans:

And, of course CUPCAKES! They were the hit of the party! I didn't tell anyone they were vegan and gluten-free until they ate them. I'd even gotten my first cupcake client because of the party!

 And this is all of us together:

 Thank you, Fitness Chicks!!!

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Black Rice and Fitness Chicks