(Mostly) Raw on The Cheap

Kale Salad

All is well
Everything is working out for my highest good
Out of this situation only good can come
I am safe
--Louise Hay

Sometimes you have to get knocked on your behind in order to be awakened. I think that's what happened when my sister-in-law got physical with me. I don't like to call it a fight because I never hit her; I defended myself. But I don't want to downplay its significance either. So I'll stick with "physical" or "altercation." That incident showed me how off-track I have been.

Life is supposed to be abundant in all areas: relationships, money, and health. I hadn't been raw because of financial reasons, and that frustrated me. It bites to know what can help me but not being able to afford it. So I came up with this idea of (Mostly) Raw On The Cheap. I can know a person can be (mostly) raw without breaking the bank. I say "mostly" because sometimes things will come out of a can. Not always. But sometimes canned can substitute for fresh. I promise the raw food police will not come after you :-).

I am on a mission. I own a lot of books. But what I did was go through the mounds of recipes I printed from the Internet. I put them in two categories: simple and not simple. Simple can be as easy as one ingredient to seven. But my definition of simplicity is the ease of ingredients and how long the dish takes to prepare.

The revelation came right after the first 84-days of my cleanse based on Queen Afua's Heal Thyself. This first phase did not go the way I expected, but a cleanse of sorts has happened.

If you've been reading this blog for a while, some of this stuff might be repeats. But as I share the recipes, I'll be linking to them on the right side of my blog, so they will always be around.

Kale Salad -- Adapted from The Joy of Living Live by Zakhah
The winner of winners. Your salad will disappear at every potluck.
1 bunch of kale greens
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons liquid aminos or 4 tablespoons soy sauce (not raw)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil

Wash the greens. Put them in a tupperware bowl that has a top. Sprinkle the nutritional yeast on top the kale first. Add the garlic cloves, aminos or soy sauce, lemon juice squeezed straight from the lemon (watch those seeds), and olive oil. Put the top on your tupperware bowl. Shake like crazy. The success of this dish comes in all of the kale being coated evenly. Sometimes the yeast gets gloopy. So shake, do not stir or mix. Shake. Adjust the seasonings to your liking.

Mexicavo Salad

Mexicavo Salad -- Adapted from Incredibly Delicious by Gentle World Publications

Dressing:
1/4 cup raw (or not) apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
sea salt or liquid aminos to taste
1 clove garlic
dash of black pepper
1 teaspoon Spike seasoning
Blend all ingredients in a blender

Salad:
4 ears of corn or 1 can of corn
4 diced tomatoes
1/2 cup sweet onion
Romaine lettuce
Cubed avocados
1/2 cup fresh cilantro

Pour the dressing over the first four ingredients. Add the avocados and cilantro afterward becuase they get soggy otherwise. Awesome, awesome salad. The dressing is thebomb.com!!!

My new vision board

I did a vision board in 2006. This is the newest one. I took a picture of it while it sat on my kitchen table. It wasn't 100% finished, but here's the gist of it: me and my family, our friends, yoga, Michael Baisden (I want to be on his radio show), Cathy Hughes, owner of Radio One, Inc, bestelling, legendary books, a 2009 Saturn, the house we want to purchase, and salads and gardens. All of these things represent my values and intentions. I wrote my values first, then an intention list, then did the board. Your values and intentions should line up. The board is a visual representation of those two things. Email me your vision boards when you finish them!

Love,

Althea

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(Mostly) Raw on The Cheap

The Latest with Me

Flax Bread

I did make the bread as promised. It actually tasted good. My husband, ever the loyal taste tester, actually liked it. If he doesn't like something, then it really doesn't taste good. I made this last week, so it's a little fuzzy now. But it was 1 cup of ground flax seeds mixed with ½ cup of water, 1 onion, 3 garlic cloves. I added a little mashed avocado and various herbs to the mix. Spread in the dehydrator and leave in for at least 12 hours. I left mine in for 13 hours. We ate it up in 3 days.

The past week has been VERY emotional for me, and I have not been 100% raw. Not that I'm stressed about it, but to blog means to be honest what is happening in my life. Too much to process right now. I've been sick for 15 days now. I'm at the end of it; I can tell because I'm coughing up less mucus and need less sleep. I'm also sore, part of which is due to these flu-like symptoms. I've been eating lots of raw garlic, soup, greens, teas, and rice.

The other part of this has to do with my in-laws. Any good vibes you all can send my way would be appreciated. I need all the light, goodness, and positivity, and prayers you can send to me. Remaining grateful in the midst of sorrow and chaos is a tough thing to do, but I am hanging in here. Just pray for a positive outcome to this situation and that a way is being made right now.

Angela Stokes of RawReform.com

On a light note, here are some exciting news in the raw food world. Angela Stokes of RawReform.com has been featured on CNN. You can watch the video here:

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2008/09/23/gupta.fn.raw.food.stokes.cnn

In case the link is cut off, click here: CNN video of Angela

Bernando LaPallo

Also, I saw this link in Angela's blog about 107 year old Bernando LaPallo. That's right ONE OH SEVEN. Not a typo. You can read about Mr. LaPallo at Paul Nison's blog: http://paulnison.blogspot.com/2008/09/107-years-young-and-still-going-strong.html


And here's another good blog post at We Like It Raw: http://www.welikeitraw.com/rawfood/2008/09/the-trap-of-100.html It's Anthony of the Raw Model blog talking at the Raw Spirit Festival about being compassionate with yourself. Don't get caught up on the "perfectionism" of being 100% raw. We really are too hard on ourselves for any mistakes that we make. And eating, being full of emotion and attachment, is where we as human beings can get so mad at ourselves. Let's all take it easy and enjoy food, rather than condemn ourselves for what we don't or do eat. Love yourselves and learn to detach from the all or nothing approach.

Love,

Althea

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The Latest with Me

Juice Fast Days 20 and 21

Elmo enjoying his beet juice

On Day 20, I had:
3 apples/1/4 lemon/ 4 collard leaves juice
3 apples/ 1/2 beet/ 1/4 lemon/ 1/4 knob ginger juice
onion tea 3 times


On Day 21, I had:
peach/banana smoothie
3 apples/3 carrots juice
2 apples/ 1/4 lemon/1/2 beet juice
2 apples/2 celery/1/2 lemon/4 kale/ 2 romaine leaves juice

Alpha child drinking my juice

Beta child after he rebuffed the juice

So how do I feel? I'm still sick, but I do feel better. And I know I've lost weight, but I haven't left my house in a week. I plan to weigh myself on Tuesday, so I'll let you all know how much weight I've lost. I'm ready to get started on some recipes. I still want to make the raw bread, but I'm going to focus on basics. I looked at Alissa Cohen's Living on Live Food again this afternoon, and she has a lot of extremely simple things in there. I keep thinking basics. Learn basic recipes and build on those. That is my plan...so let's go!

Thanks for reading.

Love,

Althea

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Juice Fast Days 20 and 21

Juice Fast Days 15-19

On Day 15, I had:
Ginger tea
Peppermint tea twice
2 apples/ ¼ ginger/ 2 celery ribs/4 collard leaves juice
2 apples/1/2 beet /¼ ginger/ ¼ lemon/ 1 celery rib juice
2 apples/2 carrots juice
2 apples/ ½ beet/ ¼ ginger/ ¼ lemon juice
lots of water and lemon

On Day 16, I had:
Peppermint tea 4 times
1 peach/2 bananas/ kale/collard smoothie
2 bananas
2 apples
lots of water and lemon

On Day 17, I had:
2 apples/2 carrots juice
3 apples/5 collard leaves juice
Peppermint tea twice
2 peach/2 banana/collard/kale smoothie

On Day 18, I had:
Peppermint tea twice
2 apples/1/4 lemon/ ½ beet juice
lots of water and lemon

On Day 19, I had:
2 Bolthouse green smoothies
onion tea twice
Hot toddy twice
lots of water and lemon

No pictures today...In short, family...I have the flu. My children had recovered from their colds pretty quickly. I have not been so lucky. I think the intensity is in part due to the juice fast itself. My husband took off work twice this week so I could stay in bed. This is not fun. But I also intend that this is the last time I am sick :-)

But I got some clarity on how much fear has governed my life since I graduated from college in 1993. It's too long to go into here, but what I've done over the past few days is call people that I felt like I had wronged. I also called someone else to talk about an incident that hurt my feelings. All of the calls went really well and ended on a positive note. What was I so afraid of? Fear itself is more scary than the actual event it seems.

Breaking through fears puts you closer to the life that you really want.

Love,
Althea ◦

Juice Fast Days 15-19

Juice Fast Days 11-14 and Steps to Raw

Apple-Beet Juice

On the rest of Day 11, I had:
2 carrots/2 celery ribs/handful of parsley juice
1 apple/ 1/4 lemon/handful of parsley juice
2 apples/handful of parsley juice
lots of water

On Day 12, I had:
1 apple/1 celery rib/handful of parsley and cilantro/1/4 lemon juice
2 apples/1 celery rib/handful of parsley/3 kale leaves/5 collard leaves juice
1 apple/1 huge carrot/1 celery rib/1/4 lemon/handful of parsley and cilantro juice
lots of water

Day 13, I had:
1/4 beet/2 carrots/1 apple/1/4 lemon/1/2 inch ginger juice
1/4 beet/3 carrots/1/4 lemon/1/2 ginger juice
2 peaches/2 bananas/5 collard leaves/handful of parsley/ 1 cup water smoothie
lots of water

Apple-Collard Juice

On Day 14, I had:
1 peach/1 banana/4 collard leaves/1 cup water smoothie
1 apple/1 celery/4 kale leaves juice
2 peach/2 bananas/ 5 kale leaves/1 cup water smoothie
3 apples/2 celery/6 collard/ 1/2 lemon juice
lots of water

The only updates I have today is that I am still losing weight. All my clothes are too big. (That's a good thing!) And I feel good energy-wise, but I've caught my children's cold. Blah. I'll be drinking teas along with my juice until I get over this cold.

I found my notes about The Steps on Your Raw Food Journey. I had started this back in June, but I hadn't posted all of them. So here they are! I will follow up on Steps 5-15 later.

1. Know Why You are Doing This
2. Read a Ton of Books
3. Meet Other Raw Foodies
4. Drink Your Greens
5. Learn Basic Recipes
6. Learn How to Sprout
7. Stock Your Kitchen
8. Acknowledge Your Emotions
9. Practice Gratitude
10. Be Kind to Yourself
11. Pay Attention to Your Body
12. Know Thyself
13. Practice Mind/Body/Spirit Exercises
14. Smile & Laugh & Love
15. Lead by Example

This isn't lock-step: step one, step two, etc. They more blend together as one, but taking each piece of your raw food journey and breaking it down makes it easier to do. It can be overwhelming, can't it? Just take one step at a time, and set small goals for yourself.

I was telling my mom about one of my favorite blogs, Dar Kush. Author Steve Barnes writes this blog. A few days ago, he wrote about the power of inertia. When people attempt major life changes, something tends to pop up to get in their way. His advice was to take it sloooooooow.
That post was a big help to me. We don't have to do everything all at once. :-)
Here's the post: http://darkush.blogspot.com/2008/09/power-of-inertia.html

Let me know what you all think!

Love,
Althea

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Juice Fast Days 11-14 and Steps to Raw

Colon Cleanse: Days 8-11

Beet Juice

On Day 8, I had:
lemon and water, lots of it
tomato and avocado nori
kale salad

On Day 9, I had:
4 apples/1/4 lemon/3 collard leaves/2 kale leaves/1 tbsp psyllium juice
1 apple/4 carrots juice
1 apple/3 carrots/5 collard leaves/4 kale leaves juice
1 banana/1 peach/6 collard leaves/1 cup water smoothie
tomato and avocado nori kale salad
1 peach
watermelon

On Day 10, I had:

2 apple juice

kale salad

2 carrots/1 celery/1 apple juice

1/4 watermelon/5 collard juice

lots o' water and lemon

lemon/ginger/olive oil/1 cup water shake

On Day 11, I'm having:
2 peaches/2 bananas/5 collards/1 cup water
2 apples/1 celery/1/4 bunch cilantro/handful of parsley/1/4 lemon juice
2 apples/1/4 lemon/5 collard juice


So I switched some things up. I feel great drinking all of this juice. I decided to do a straight juice fast through September 23. Following the Juicing, Fasting, and Detoxing for Life book was getting too strenuous and stressful. I still like the book, and the recipes in it, which I am using, but to follow it to the letter was stressing me out. And food should be fun, whatever kind you are eating.


I also read in Cleanse and Purify Thyself by Richard Anderson, N.D., N.M.D., that bentonite should only be taken in liquid form. Oh, great. I didn't ingest that much of it in clay form, but things didn't move as much as I thought they should. So for now, it's pure liquid.


My strongest advice to anyone is to read a whole lot (see Step 2: read a lot of books) before making any major food shifts in your life. But I will say that going raw has been the best move I have made in a long time. What's been the best decision you have made regarding your health and food?

Love,
Althea

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Colon Cleanse: Days 8-11

Colon Cleanse: Days 5-7

Watermelon Juice

On Day 5, I had:

apple/green beans/collards/lemon juice

carrot/kale/lemon juice

peach/banana/kale smoothie

watermelon

carrots

lots o' water

On Day 6, I had:

apple/collard/lemon juice

peach/banana/collard smoothie

Bolthouse green smoothie

kale salad

peaches

lots o' water

On Day 7, I had:

watermelon/collard juice

banana/peach/collard smoothie

watermelon/kale juice

water and lemon juice

lots o' water

I feel great even though I stopped taking the fiber mix of bentonite, flax, and psyllium. It wasn't doing much for me. But I will say that I haven't been exercising like I should and that does help move things along. But emotionally and mentally, I feel clear and positive. I think I'll start the liver/gallbladder cleanse on Sunday.

And I realized that being simple with the raw food is working for me. I'm eating simple mono-meals and, for now, that works. I really want to experiment with raw breads to break from using lettuce or collards as the wrap. The concept of a raw bread fascinates me. They are also portable which would help when I'm out with my children. But that's coming later, after I finish this cleanse.

Talk soon. And thank you for all the emails!

Love,

Althea

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Colon Cleanse: Days 5-7

Colon Cleanse: Days 1 through 4

Peach-Banana-Collard Smoothie

On Day 1, I had:
avocado/apple/cilantro smoothie
apple/carrot/broccoli/green pepper/cilantro juice with fiber mix
carrot/apple/spinach juice
carrot/apple/green beans/lettuce juice
carrot juice with fiber mix
Bolthouse green smoothie
plums
a whole lot of water

On Day 2, I had:
apple/lemon/green beans/kale juice with fiber mix
watermelon/spinach/cilantro juice
carrot/apple/green pepper/spinach juice with fiber mix
peaches
a whole lot of water

On Day 3, I had:
Chamomile tea
water with fiber mix (YUCK. I will never do that again.)
carrot/apple juice
apple/lemons/green beans juice
carrot juice with fiber mix
peach/banana/kale/green pepper smoothie
kale salad
a whole lot of water

Reaching for the apple juice :-)

On Day 4, I had:

Carrot juice with fiber mix

apple/lemon/green beans/green pepper juice

watermelon/kale juice with fiber mix

apple/kale/collard juice with fiber mix

kale salad

a whole lot of water

Two major changes I've seen have been in my mood, which is generally sunny. And I have more energy. The other revelation I've had has been LEMONS. They really do cut the "green" taste of green leafy veggies. When I made apple/lemon/green bean juice yesterday, I shared some with my oldest son (the one in the picture. He turned six yesterday) and he nearly drank it all. He even asked for more! That will be my secret weapon to getting my kids to drink green juice. It really did taste like apple lemonade. There was no hint of green beans at all. I was out of lemons after that, so I made him more today.

Oh, and that fiber mix of psyllium, bentonite, and flax seed, whooooo...that is nasty stuff in some water. What was I thinking? Only in juice can someone drink that. It was a bad mix of dirt and slime. Yuck. But mixed with juice it's fine.

Until next time,

Love,

Althea

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Colon Cleanse: Days 1 through 4

Starting the Fast

I'm starting my fast today, August 28, instead of September 2nd. I have no idea how long I am doing this. It will either be 21 days or 30 days. I'll simply see how I feel. Today is the start of the colon cleanse, as outlined in Juicing, Fasting, and Detoxing for Life. Above is the book, flax seeds, bentonite, psyllium, and probotics. I ground the flax seeds and mixed them with the psyllium and bentonite for a homemade fiber shake. I'm supposed to add 1 1/2 tablespoons of that mix into 8 oz. of juice or water. Taken 3 times a day, plus other juices, is my plan for at least this week.

I'll focus on green juices, with something sweet as a base, like these carrots. I got two 5-lb bags for $2.00 each at the natural market near my house. I've got apples, cilantro, spinach, celery, lettuce, and green beans. I'm getting more stuff from the farmer's market this afternoon.

I'll post again tomorrow with Day 1 updates.

Love,

Althea

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Starting the Fast

Battling the PMS Monster

Talk about being knocked off my center! I am crazy right now! Sisters, send me what you use to alleviate PMS symptoms. I got acupuncture, which was a WONDERFUL help with pain. And I forgot to upload the photo of the acupuncturist, but I'll do that next time. He was great. But I need to hear from holistic women who know how to turn down the noise of PMS. I look at it differently from the conventional wisdom. I know I don't have to live with this. I know I need to detox; that was the point of the cleanse (which will be starting sooner rather than September 2nd).

This is how I feel right now.

And I have yet to get my period. Lord help me! I think it's stress. Because it's only been my last cycle and this one that I've felt so off-center. I had a dream last night that summed up my home life. Talk about right on point. Queen Afua says to fast and pray to open up blockages in your life. I'll be doing that soon.

But the Angels are always here to help :-)

So I haven't eaten any meat. Meat is so far away as anything I would touch ever again, but it's still baked goods and rice. God help me. I'm making green smoothies but I still don't feel right. Remember I said that at PMS time another women inhabits my body and demands every sugary product she can see? It's the weirdest feeling I cannot describe with words. In a jokey-joke moment, I started to give her a name, but I won't do that. I do not want to empower this hormonal aberration.

So I'm asking for help. HELP!

Leave me a comment so other women may be helped as well.

Love,

Althea

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Battling the PMS Monster

What I've Been Eating

"Burger" Salad

I've talked about this one before as a Leftover Salad. I made it yesterday and my husband (who previously dissed my meatballs) said, "Hey, this hamburger salad joint is great. Who says you can't be vegan and eat well?" Straight from a still-meat eating brother: it's a fantastic salad.

The "burger" is really Cashew Garden Burgers from Sergei and Valya Boutenko's book Fresh. That recipe is so versatile. You are supposed to dehydrate them into burgers, but I've found that it's not necessary.

Cashew Garden Burgers

2 cups cashews

1 cup dried tomatoes - soaked for 10 minutes

1/4 bunch cilantro

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Blend all ingredient in a food processor. Use leftover tomato water if you need help blending ingredients. (Optional: form into patties, dehydrate at 110 degrees for 10-12 hours, flip and dry for another 5-8 hours). I don't dry them anymore. I use this pate in burritos, nori rolls, and now salad.

Tomato Kale Soup

This is another Boutenko/Energy Soup inspired recipe. It's 1 tomato, 1 peeled lemon (no seeds), 1 avocado, and a handful of kale and spinach. It was good, not great. But I would eat it again. I'll add cilantro next time.

Peach Green Smoothie

This was great! It's two peaches (not peeled), two bananas, a handful of kale and spinach, and enough water to blend with (I didn't measure). Good stuff!

And the lentils are sprouted. I'll talk about how to sprout next time :-).

Love,

Althea

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What I've Been Eating

Healing

Leftover Salad

I was going to talk about my love for Paula Deen today, but I'll wait until next time. :-)

Something interesting happened today. In my last post, I wrote about healing my relationship with my in-laws. Well, on yesterday's Tavis Smiley Show, Louise Hay was his guest. She talked a lot about forgiveness. I was on the same page with her. I know I need to forgive some people in my life, past and present, my in-laws being two of them.

This morning, I asked my angels and guides to help us purchase our dream house and property, which is another story in itself. (I have a lot of stories to tell, don't I?) I mean I was jumping around with joy (that's how you manifest something into reality faster - feel it as if you have it.) But I really asked, sincerely, for help.

So today, Tavis's guest was Andrew Bridge, author of Hope's Boy, who shares the emotional story of his mother's battle with schizophrenia and his experience in foster care. One of my in-laws, I'll call her Mattie, has schizophrenia. I was captivated.

Then, on Charlie Rose, which follows Tavis, his guest was Barbara Walters. She talked about how her relationship with her developmentally disabled older sister had a profound impact on her life.

The other in-law, I'll call her Sally, is developmentally disabled.

The irony of all this was obvious. First, I walked into my house at noon, when Tavis comes on here. Second, this stay-at-home mom rarely gets to watch TV during the day. Today, however, I sat myself down on my couch for an hour and a half, with my kids treating me as their private jungle gym, and I watched both of those shows.

I was like, "Wow, this is incredible." I felt like the Universe was helping me heal these relationships. I was getting an answer to my prayers from this morning, but not in a plain, "here's your house" sort of way. Forgiveness is part of the journey to the house. Louise Hay says that forgiveness helps you change your life because you become "unstuck" from the pain you are holding on to. It frees you. Forgiveness doesn't mean that you condone the person's actions. It simply means that you've let go.

Things have been calmer at my house, because I've been calmer, and nicer. I'm learning that if you want peace, be peaceful.

And when I'm peaceful, I'm less of an emotional eater. The above photo is "leftover salad." I've been throwing together dishes lately. No recipes. That's leftover cashew pate, with avocados and lettuce. I used a house dressing over it.

These are cherry tomatoes and vine-ripe tomatoes from my yoga student Robin's garden. She brought them to me on Thursday. The vine tomatoes were the best ever. Melt in your mouth good. It had FLAVOR. Nothing like the kind you buy in the store. That's why I need to learn how to garden!

Thanks Universe!

Love,

Althea

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Healing

Closing the Gap

That's my 3 year old son with his face in my carrot juice! He wasn't trying to drink it, he was blowing on it like it was hot. That carrot juice had lemons, kale, spinach, cilantro, and lettuce in it. I've also been drinking green smoothies with bananas, kiwi, kale, and spinach.

On Saturday, I had cooked food. I was feeling very lightheaded while I was at Mystickal Voyage doing readings. I could feel all my energy up in my head and crown. So I got Schezuan tofu and asked them to put vegetables in it. I felt better within 10 minutes.

I hope no one is too disappointed with me for saying that. I used my intuition to decide what I needed in that moment, and that worked. On Sunday, I was right back on the cleanse. I made falafels, with tomatoes, cucumbers and a house dressing.

But I have been REALLY emotional lately. So much has happened in the past two months that I've had trouble processing it all. Some has been wonderful, some not so wonderful. As an intuitive, I witness some pretty amazing stuff. Then when I turn around and look at my personal life, some things are not so amazing. The dichotomy is getting to me.

I finished the fifth round of edits for my Mocha Angels book tonight. Looking at it again, I realize I'm not living all that I've received. Mocha Angels was channeled back in 2005 when I was going through the worst of the drama with my disabled relatives. I mean, they were bringing the noise and bringing the funk, for real. I'd just had a baby. I wasn't getting any sleep, and I had to contend with other folks dysfunctions every day. My house was not a happy place to be. There were days that I hated coming home because I was never sure how my relatives would behave. One thing was consistent though: their behavior was never, ever positive.

Mocha Angels is very much along the same line as The Secret and Ask and it is Given, but in a 365 day Daily Word format. But I channeled my messages before either of those two products were released. I look at the messages and sometimes I can't believe they came through me. The two great messages of the book are:

-manifest the life that you really want with the power of your thoughts

-love everyone you meet, whether they love you or not

That love thing...I've been witholding love from my relatives. They have brought so much drama...worthy of a book as my mother and some friends have told me. But love is the singularly consistent messgage of the Mocha Angels. Love. Just love them, even if they don't love you. Love is the healing balm of all wounds. Love creates miracles. Love is God's first, middle, and last name. Love will heal your family.

(Okay....had to break because I was crying. I'm back now.)

And the other thing is I don't tell a lot of people about what I do for a living. When asked, I say I'm a yoga teacher. I am a yoga teacher, but most of my income comes from doing readings. When I was editing the book tonight, the December 3 message was this:

Fear not your own truth, especially if it differs greatly from the masses. You think you are all alone in your truths. You are not. Your personal truth was given to you in order to heal yourself, heal others, and live out loud. Manifest greatness by being yourself.

When other people read me, they always say the same thing: speak your personal truth. I've been holding back. I speak freely when I'm around people I know agree with me. But if I'm not sure, I hold back and keep quiet. I just need to be myself and live my life according to my personal experiences, which have shaped my truths.

And love my in-laws.

Love,

Althea

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Closing the Gap

What I ate the first two days

Asian-Inspired Green Beans

Hi Ya'll:


Tyrah, one of my readers in Australia, asked what I've been eating. I've been eating cashew nori rolls, kale salad, sesame seed milk, and lots of fruit. I know I need to change this up a bit. Green beans were on sale for 99 cents pound, so I got some. The above dish, Asian-Inspired Green Beans is an original.

The sauce is:
sesame oil
olive oil
ginger
garlic
maple syrup
nama shoyu
red pepper chili flakes.

The sauce is based on Golden Tofu Marinade from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison. (I hate I sold that book. It's a great foundation for anyone learning how cook.) Her sauce had brown sugar in it. I changed it to maple syrup, and just went by taste. It's a great sauce for anything. I'd made spaghetti for the rest of the family and poured that sauce over it. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and you've got a meal.

And these peaches I bought at the farmer's market near my house (minus four already eaten). These are called "Seconds." They are cheaper than regular peaches. They may be a little bruised or highly ripe, but still in good condition. I bought ten dollars worth of peaches for $4.50.

And I've gotten bananas at 25 cents a pound at my local grocery store. Again, seconds. The bananas might be open on the top. I saw two of them like that and asked the produce manager if I could get them discounted. She said, "Sure! I've two boxes of them like that in the back!" I got ten of them for 75 cents. Ask, because they won't volunteer the information.

And this is what I had for breakfast yesterday. Peaches, bananas, and kiwi. Simple and easy!

I need to do some green smoothies and juices though. I'll let you know what I did over the weekend on Monday.

hugs,

Althea

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What I ate the first two days

336 Days of Wellness

Hi, Ya'll:
I'm back from Detroit. It was a long and emotional weekend, but I am grateful I got to see so many relatives and friends, so it was all worth it. While I was gone, I got to finish Queen Afua's Heal Thyself, for the hundredth time. This time, I'm reading it with other women over at
Circle of Sisters (http://sistercircles.ning.com/). I'm reading this book and thinking, "You are delaying the inevitable." I love food. I love talking about food. I love making food, but I know live food is where it's at for me. Girl, get on the good foot and heal yourself.

So with that said, I decided to do the near-year long purification Queen Afua-style. It's an 84-day cycle of 50-75% raw food, then 100% raw, then a juice fast, and then a mix of all three. I'm doing it for nearly a year. Why not? Here is the schedule, which I've posted on the right-hand side of my blog. I'm doing all raw instead of the percentage in the first 21 days. And July 24 is my Grandma Pearl's 81st birthday, so I thought that was a good day to start.

Heal Thyself 336 Days of Purification to Perfect Wellness
Cycle 1
July 24- begin 100% raw vegan diet
August 12- 21 days
Sept 2- 42 days/begin juice fast & colon cleanse
September 23- end juice fast
October 14 – end 84 day cycle

Cycle 2
October 15 – begin
November 4 – 21 days
November 25 – 42 days/begin juice fast
December 16 –end juice fast
January 6 – end 84 day cycle

Cycle 3
January 7 – begin
January 27 – 21 days
February 17 – 42 days/begin juice fast
March 10 –end juice fast
March 31 – end 84 day cycle

Cycle 4
April 1 – begin
April 21 – 21 days
May 12 – 42 days/begin juice fast
June 2 –end juice fast
June 23 – end 84 day cycle

Did you notice I'll be fasting during Thanksgiving? LOL. That ought to be fun :-). I won't do a day by day, blow by blow of everything, but I do see some good things happening during this time. And the first juice fast I'm doing in September will also combine the colon/liver/gallbladder/kidney cleanse from Juicing, Fasting, and Detoxing for Life by Cherie Calbom, which is the book I'm giving away in two days.

Thanks for reading!

love,
Althea ◦

336 Days of Wellness