Filling Up on Life

And Then We Went Home: The Afterglow

2008-09-17T10:45:00.012-05:00

A few weekends ago, I went to the Raw Spirit Festival in Sedona, Arizona. It was my second raw spirit festival. I barely took any photos, but I did take a few and they are mostly of Suki Zoe. I couldn't help myself as she is such a captivating and beautiful person. I thought it would also be okay to take photos of her since she took all the photos of everyone else (here and here). At the festival, I ran into a lovely couple who have the same last name as me. This delighted me because I don't know anyone else with my last name (aside from family members). I felt an undeniable instant connection with them and would be surprised if we didn't share any ancestry.

Me and the other Herberts

Here are photos of some of my favorite presenters at this year's festival:

Lydia of Lydia's Organics:

The Wild Women's Panel:
(Heather Salmon, Katrina Blair, Kerry Dancing Butterfly, Happy Oasis)

Terces and Matthew Engelhart of Cafe Gratitude:

Shea and Suki:

These are yellow flowers that I woke up to in the morning:

This was some natural art at the festival:

And, as promised, some shots of Mademoiselle Suki Z.

Here we are together:

And here we are joined by the hauntingly beautiful and inspirational G-O-D-D-E-S-S (!!!) Katrina Rainoshek:

Kooky Beauties are we.

Last of all, here is a little something I wrote the morning after I got back home:

"It's Tuesday morning. We are getting our first crisp, promising hints of fall here in Birmingham, AL. My mind is so deliriously satisfied and cozy. Yes. Cozy mind. I'm reveling in a delicious state of Cozy Mind right now where my thoughts keep delighting me from moment to moment and I feel so satisfied and excited at the same time...welcoming in all the magic as the familiar friend it is becoming. "Hello, Magic! There you are again! Of course."

Everything feels perfect. All the guys I have crushes on are my boyfriend in some way. All the people I am attracted to are attracted to me back. All the people I love, love me too. Even the ones who don't know I exist. Even the one who think they don't love me, though I am not even sure they exist. Most importantly, I feel happy with myself. I feel beautiful beyond description and surprised and delighted at my perfection. Even the weather is whispering it to me. The weather. My Lover. Our relationship is my example to you of True Love. It is tumultuous at times, not always romantic but sometimes hopelessly so, sensuously stimulating, infinitely beautiful and insanely passionate, but best of all - everlasting. Loving me to the end of time. And always there. So what about soul mates and love at first sight? Now you know. Its all true. We were destined for each other and nothing can keep us apart.

I went to the raw spirit festival this weekend and it was good. I got to meet, watch, admire and soak up the presence of many amazing people and I feel that only now that I am back home is it starting to affect me powerfully. Only now is the experience really starting to and sink in. While I was at the festival, I just felt sort of normal. All sorts of magical things happened, but I knew they were going to, so it didn't surprise me. I saw all sorts of beautiful and amazing people there, but I knew I would, so that didn't' surprise me either. I even felt inspired and touched by many experiences I had, but I had expected that also. So now that I am back home, I have begun to experience the greatest part of it all: ahhhhhhh yes! This is the way things are now. This is the way life is becoming now - more and more incredible and I get to just settle in and enjoy the ride. "Hello, Magic! Good to see you again, as always. And yes. I think there is enough room at mom's place for you to move in with us."

Yes, I am corny and deliriously romantic at times, but its fun that way.

New Job!!

2008-08-19T09:46:00.002-05:00

Guess what, folks?
I got a new job!!! I will be training to be a cashier at the Whole Foods here in Birmingham, AL. I couldn't be more excited as this was the job that I truly wanted the most. Just wanted to share my good news :)

Day 26 update

2008-07-26T21:04:00.001-05:00

Day 14, fun in Atlanta, and SLUMBER PARTIES!!

2008-07-15T15:09:00.011-05:00

Here is my Day 14 check in video:

Here is Beth Bunny Berry's entertaining video from our raw food meetup in Atlanta this past Friday:

To view the photos I took at the meetup, go here.

If you live near Atlanta and would like details on the next raw food meetup, go here.

Finally, here is a shot of me and raw food celebrity Bunny Berry, 100 day raw food challenger, and creator of Raw Fu - a brand new social network for people who want to do the next 100 day raw food challenge beginning on August 1st (please join us if you are so inclined!). If you have not yet had the opportunity of visiting Mrs. Berry's blog, you are in for a treat: www.BunnyBerry.blogspot.com. Join her as she nears the end of her first Epic 100 day raw food challenge...

It was truly a treat for me to meet her and spend some time with her. She is so down to earth and she is so much FUN!!! Oh my goodness...I am a huge fan...

Wouldn't it be fun to have an all girls raw food slumber party somewhere??? This is just a thought I keep having b/c for some reason it sounds soooooo fuuuuun to me, so I'm putting it out there. Come on, pajamas, raw ice cream sundaes, movies, giggling, talking about boys, board games, etc...

More FOOD! Look what we got...

2008-07-10T15:23:00.013-05:00

Garlic

Most delicious peaches in the world

Prescott heirloom melon

Inside a Prescott melon

tomatillos

Peppers

tomatoes

tomatoes forever and ever

Sun Jewel heirloom melon

Inside a Sun Jewel - tastes a little like apple maybe

Eggplants

Merit heirloom corn

Simon packing CSA boxes

CSA box last week.

This weeks CSA box

What will we do with all the leftovers?

marinated eggplant pizza

There was a snake in the hen house and Simon captured and relocated her. We thought it was a rattle snake at first, but there was no rattle. Can anyone identify it? Just curious.

Zinnia bouquet

New Medium

2008-07-07T20:55:00.000-05:00

Raw Abundance

2008-07-01T11:43:00.013-05:00

The food situation here just keeps getting better and better. Right now we have heirloom tomatoes, zucchini, squash, carrots, blackberries (those are wild and oh my goodness), blueberries, onions, garlic and cucumbers out the wazoo.

We've also got a big patch of kale that I tend to with great care,

lots of fennel, and best of all, organic peaches ripe off of the tree!!!

AND there are all kinds of melons and winter squashes getting ready to ripen up in the giant melon field, the peppers and eggplant are just about ready, various kinds of corn and okra are on the way, etc. etc. And yet, it still gets better. There are some zucchini, cucumbers, and squash that are too big to sell. (aw shucks)

There are a lot of tomatoes and peaches that get a bad spot.

And sometimes we just have plain old extra.

Guess who gets to juice it all up?????

I made some raw pizza for the first time in quite a while. I did a buckwheat/carrot/flax crust, spread some homemade pesto on and topped it with zucchini alfredo and brandywine tomato chunks.

I went to visit my mom this weekend and we went out to the movies a couple of times. We saw Sex and the City and Get Smart. I enjoyed both of them very much. The former reminded me how much I've been missing female company and just feeling girly in general (I've got to devise some ways to feel girly and feminine now that I'm out here on a farm). The latter made me laugh. a LOT.

I found out some wonderful news yesterday morning: Druhmil (from WLIR) is putting together a raw food meetup in Atlanta on July 11th!!! Yay! I get to go hang out with some raw food folks!!!! I am really, really looking forward to this.

David Rainoshek of juicefeasting.com just published an excellent piece on his and Katrina's blog entitled: Where is the Raw/Living Foods Movement Headed? In it he talks about the loving attitude behind the raw foods movement and the shifting emphasis towards growing our own food. It was a great read. Mr. Rainoshek has a way with words.

I would like to add, I believe it is in the interest of both raw foodists and organic farmers to work more together towards our common goal of healthy bodies on a healthy planet. Organic farmers can offer raw foodists places of beauty teaming with life of all sorts, lessons in growing food, opportunities to get exercise and be in the sunshine, and best of all: tons of good food. Raw foodists can offer farmers their energy, cheer, support, enthusiasm, and tons of good recipes!! Do you have any good ideas about how raw fooders and farmers can team up? Let's talk!

Bonus: beautiful wild hydrangea growing in the woods out here:

Berry buzz and a bottle bush

2008-06-25T19:59:00.010-05:00

Below are some photos of stuff we are growing.

Mystery squash. Simon probably knows what this is, but I do not.

Peach!

Zinnia

Baby Butternut Suash

Big Butternut

Big Spaghetti Squash

Another mystery something

Cantaloupe

Reishi mushrooms (is this homegrown superfood?)

underside

Big beautiful shiitake mushrooms!

We picked a whole lotta blueberries yesterday for the CSA bags this week at a nearby U Pick 'Em farm. I said to myself before we began, as I always do, to NOT overdo it on the berries while we were out there picking them. Sometimes this works, but since this was the first picking of the season, alas, I went home with a belly quite full of a blueberries and a good little sugar buzz. There was a beautiful country veggie/flower garden near the house where we picked the berries and I took a few photos to share.

They even had a bottle bush.

Full Circles

2008-06-19T13:32:00.012-05:00

I harvested wheat the other day and it was incredibly fulfilling. To think that I will be able to grow wheatgrass from homegrown wheatberries is one of those "closing the circle" satisfactions that makes me feel good down to my toes.

Wheat, wheat, oh beautiful wheat!
What a treat, you make my heart sweet!

Wheat is a gift. It grows easily, not too many pest problems, I believe it can be used as a cover crop - enriching the soil, it will make chickens and ducks happy, AND it grows to waist level, so its easy on your back to hand harvest!!! My appreciation for whole cereal grains continues to grow.

Even though I love living on a farm and I feel really lucky to be here, there are some things I am having to get used to. Pulling ticks off of the dogs and pulling horn worm caterpillars off of the tomato plants are not my favorite things. Audry, be brave.

(ticks: yuck! I want to love the ticks, but its hard sometimes.)

I told Simon that I don't want to squish the caterpillars. He said that's ok. We can feed them to the chickens. Last summer, I would collect them in a cup and walk them down to the end of the road and relocate them. I never was sure what happened to them. I just figured it was better than squishing them. I am ok with giving them to the chickens because I know they are not starving to death and this way I feel that their life energy is not "wasted", for lack of a better way of putting it. It goes towards the greater good.

Here is an exoskeleton (I think thats right) that I found on a romaine leaf the other day:

Right now I am drinking lots of juice (1 - 2 quarts a day) and having some food, too. A modified juice feast, if you will. Its very comfortable. Actually its great because I have lots of energy to get work done and start new projects, much better than the miserable low energy I was feeling on 8 days of juice. And I don't have to do all the enemas. I want to see how this feels for a while and then decide if I'd like to try just juice again.

Here are some pictures of Bartlebee, she is a Sweetheart:

I watched one of the chickens die tonight. She was very sick. Maybe I don't have much to say about this. Just that I'm thinking of her tonight.

Getting Ready

2008-06-12T21:03:00.002-05:00

OK, I am beginning my feast tomorrow. I'm nervous and excited. I'm afraid one of my biggest challenges will be going without tobacco. In December of 2007, I started smoking cigarettes again and have been smoking on just about a daily basis since then. I realize this is not very exemplary of me, however, I wanted to disclose this information for the sake of being honest about my experience. On June 1st I attempted a juice feast and went without cigarettes for the first four days or so. Then I weakened and started smoking again on Day 5, I think it was. Anyway, I was having really terrible issues with low energy and ended up having some food on June 9th, not because I was hungry for it, but because I felt miserable and wanted some energy. I enjoy tobacco and I don't enjoy it. In some ways it gives me much pleasure and in others, it doesn't. So friends, wish me luck because I intend to kiss these cigarettes goodbye. At least for the feast in order to give myself a chance here.

Today I had:
1 qt. apple/fennel/celery/cucumber (this was very refreshing)
3/4 qt. orange/celery/cucumber/beet greens (this had a lot of fruit sugar and made me feel sleepy afterwards)
1 qt. zucchini/garlic/rosemary/oregano/corn (this juice made me feel awesome - very energized)
2 cigarettes
1 long enema session
16 oz chocolate/decaf coffee/pumpkin seed milk
1 T flax oil

I had all liquids today and did the enema, but because I had the chocolate milk and cigarettes, I don't count today as my first feast day. I am 5'6 and 3/4''. I think I weigh around 130 lbs right now (give or take a few), but I can check on that tomorrow. My reasons for embarking on a juice feast are manifold. To name a few:

-I wear prescription glasses and would like to try and improve my vision. I understand this might not happen in three months, but I think a juice feast would help.
-I would like to be more connected and in tune with the world around me.
-I would like to strengthen my spirituality.
-I would like to increase my energy level.
-I would like to see what I am capable of when I am not distracting myself with food/cigarettes.
-I would like to feel happier.
-I would like to see more beauty.
-I would like to do a favor for my body.
-I would like to learn more about how this human body works and functions.
-And I would like to just make a solid attempt at helping myself because I think it is something good I can do for myself and therefore, for everyone/thing.

I am glad I wrote these out so that now I can refer to them when I find myself having a difficult moment.

That is all for tonight.

I want in

2008-06-11T14:16:00.009-05:00

Right, so the truth is, for about a year now, I've been feeling kind of lost.

Blah blah blah...if you don't feel like reading this whole longwinded post, you can skip to the end where the punchline is.

Hurricane Katrina - So a few years back there was Hurricane Katrina. I try not to talk about it too much because, well, because its in the past and life moves on and for most people its pretty stale old news. But, for me, it was a catalyst or harbinger or some major changes and shifts that occured / are occuring in my life. The Saturday before HK, I was 23 years old working as an actuarial assistant in a 3 person consulting firm. I had a penthouse office of my own in downtown New Orleans complete with two executive-style dark wood desks, a fancy round sitting table and chairs and a beautiful view. I had a start-up salary of 40K with plenty of generous fringe benefits to boot. I had begun dating a handsome, successful, vivacious gentleman and I was exploring raw foods more than ever, maintaining a pretty hardcore high raw diet with occasional massive chocolate binges. Anyway, not to get too wrapped up in details, after Hurricane K, I lost this job (to my surprising relief), the guy I was dating dumped me 6 weeks later, my 3 closest friends had to relocate and move away, my father and brother whom I was sharing a house with both moved out and my Dad went to California for work and is still living there now. And he took the dogs. No, our house didn't flood like many other people's did and we were very lucky for that. But SO MUCH changed. Entire neighborhoods of the New Orleans metro area were and are still wiped out. Destroyed, uninhabited, like modern day ghost towns. I took all these changes as good fortune and struck out on my own to start up my dream raw food business at the farmers market. Feeling purpose to my life for the first time ever and ready to help nourish people with truly good food in an area where food was sometimes scarce (many grocery stores and food establishments were closed for months or more due to damage, lack of electricity, lack of employees and so forth) , I began to experience things more wonderful than I had ever imagined. I felt full of love and grace and abundance and this poured into everything I was doing. After a year and half or so of working at the farmers market, things were different. My situation felt different and I couldn't understand why I wasn't feeling the way I had when I started. So just as my market sales were doing better than ever, I decided to leave the market. I knew I wanted to try and grow my own food and this desire was becoming overwhelming. So from scratch and with very little experience, I turned my dad's backyard (a little bit to his chagrin) into a kitchen garden. For almost a year, I putzed around living off of savings and doing odd things here and there. I knew I wanted to grow food on a larger scale. I went to the SSAWG (Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group) conference in January - that was awesome. In Feb/March, I spent a lot of time at Tommie's house learning about growing sprouts, shoots and wheatgrass. An informal apprenticeship of sorts. I started searching for farming internship opportunities and thats how I landed up where I am now (see last post). However, now that I have been here for a couple of months and I am feeling more at home, I've been getting online a lot again, searching searching searching...

And then it hit me. I saw Philip's 100 day prune eating video. BOOM. Bingo. Something moved me deep inside. Then I saw some picture of Suki and she was super tiny. Ding dong. She was in on it, too. I began reading and found David and Katrina Rainoshek's juicefeasting blog on day 8o-something and I saw the video with her and her mom where they went hiking in the Grand Canyon and I was like...holy hens, this is it. I want to do this. So after being way out of the internet loop, I've just come back to find all these people (jawdroppingly radiant, might I add) finishing up extended juice feasts and I haven't felt this excited or driven to do something in a while. Because even though I am doing what exactly what I know I want to do - working at an organic farm - there is more. I think I want to juice feast. I had heard a while back about March 1st being the beginning of a Global Juice Feast, but I had no idea how much all the juice feasters were going to ignite me. When Angela did hers over a year ago, I thought it was pretty far out and for about 6 seconds I considered doing it myself and then I thought, nahhh. I will get too skinny. Then Courtney moved the world with her feast and I thought about it again. She was super helpful and encouraging when I asked her some questions about it and she made the point to me that I could always feast for 30 ro 60 days instead of 92. Yeah, I suppose. And then I forgot about it again. But when I saw Philip and he was talking about putting an end to the mediocrity in our lives and he had this indescribable angelic inner glow to him, I was like YESSSSSSSSSSS! Amen and Hallelujah. I've got to do it. I couldn't get to bed that night. I kept thinking about juice feasting and wondering if I should do it. I knew I wanted to, though. So Penni, Bronwyn, Ayrie, Constanze, Terilynn, Chaya, Ben, Katrina, Philip, Suki, and all juicefeasters, thank you thank you thank you for setting really amazing examples and for paving the way. I have spoken with Simon about it at length and he is going to support my decision to do this while I am working and living here at Noah Valley Farm.

I made an attempt to begin on June 1st. By the 9th day I was having a really really hard time. I was feeling miserable from low energy and doing lots of physical work. So I have eaten food for the last three days, but even as I was eating that bite of food on day 9 I knew that this was just the beginning and that I was going to try again with even more resolve. So, I've decided to try and get a few supplements in addition to drinking juice since I will be needing some energy to complete small daily tasks around here such as carrying hoses around and keeping things watered. I am going to try and figure out what supplements are the most vital and take it from there. I feel very ready for this. I wasn't sure at first if I wanted to try and blog about it, but I figure if all the other juicefeasting blogs out there are proving to be such an amazing resource for me, then I can put my reservations aside in the hopes that perhaps my being open about this experience will possibly be resourceful to someone else.

Punchline: I want in on the Global Juice Feast.

Thank you, juice feasters.

me and my buddy

Farm Friends

2008-06-09T16:31:00.006-05:00

Carmella, aka (by me as of right now) Beauty Inspiration, tagged me a while ago. So:

1- I wore headgear in middle school for my overbite (at home in the evenings only)

2- almost got expelled at the end of 8th grade for smuggling a tiny bit of vodka to Shoney's on a school field trip. This was probably the biggest (or second or third biggest) trouble I have ever been in. It was a major crisis for me since some of my friends got in trouble and everyone's parents and all the teachers found out about it.

3 - Mom and Dad named me after Ms. Hepburn.

4 - My little brother is cooler than I am.

5 - I moved to a farm and have 5 new roommates. Meet the players:

Simon! (giving away strawberries)

Gypsy! (aka Glamour Girl)

Bartlebee!
(no photo yet)

Balder! (the Tough Guy)

Honey! (the House Hen)

There are about 50 or so chickens here at Noah Valley Farm (near Jacksonville, Alabama), but Honey is becoming our resident House Hen. I think I am falling in love with her. She likes hanging out with us at the house. Yesterday, I opened the door and she was standing on top of a reposed Gypsy. It was too cute for words. Simon put her on my belly while I was resting the other day and she fell asleep on me with her neck stretching up to mine. She's a poop machine, but I guess we all are.

Our main current gig here at the farm is a 30 share CSA. We pack 30 bags of produce each week for the shareholders and deliver them to pickup locations.

I am very happy to be where I am right now. TONS of good food!!! Its like going to the farmers market every day. Or having the farmers market in my backyard. 24/7. But better because the food is even fresher - still growing. AND I get to help grow it! (need I say more?) I am learning a lot and putting my energy towards something that I believe in and feel good about. Plus I have a great benefits package: I get exercise, fresh air, and plenty of time for sun worship. Oh, and I am constantly surrounded by beauty.

For more pictures of the farm, go HERE

Now, who is coming to visit?

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New-ness

2008-01-13T14:11:00.001-06:00

New Books
I have been reading a lot lately. In no particular order, here are some of the books I have been enjoying:

Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramhansa Yogananda

2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl by Daniel Pinchbeck

Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives by Dan Millman

Wisdomkeepers: Meetings with Native American Spiritual Elders by Harvey Arden and Steve Wall

Travels in a Stone Canoe: The Return to the Wisdomkeepers by Harvey Arden and Steve Wall

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach

Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach

One by Richard Bach

The Mystery of 2012: Predictions, Prophecies & Possibilities by Gregg Braden and co.

The Mayan Factor: Path Beyond Technology by Jose Arguelles

Healthy at 100: How You Can At Any Age Dramatically Increase Your Life Span and Your Health Span by John Robbins

New Favorite Dish
I have a new favorite dish. Its an adaptation from an Ani Phyo recipe - Kale/Hemp/Power Slaw.

I've nicknamed my version of the recipe 'Dorito Salad' because it tastes sooooo good and cheesy!! Here it is:

1 bunch of kale, julienned
1/2 head of iceberg lettuce, julienned

Dressing:

3/4 c brazil nuts
1 T ginger
1/4 c water
1/4 c oil of your choice
2 T liquid aminos
1 lime, juiced

Instructions: FP brazil nuts and ginger, then add in the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth and creamy. Mix dressing with kale and iceberg and eat immediately or let sit in fridge for enhanced flavor alchemy.

note: Its good with carrots, too.

New Adventure
I went on a recent short adventure. I did a little camping, or tried to. I didn't last very long. I went to a State Park where the designated backpack camping sights are near a lake. OK, great! I thought at first. I can walk outside and meditate near water first thing in the morning if I want. Plus, bodies of water are just so magical and special in general. So I arrived at the spot and set up camp delighted by the beauty and quaintness of it.

Well, I got spooked by the lake eventually (SUPER spooked). I got the feeling there were alligators in there and I wasn't sure if alligators like exploring tents at night. I kept hearing so many noises from the water at night. I got pretty terrified, actually.

Well, DUH. Turns out there were totally alligators in the lake and I also found out alligators are NOCTURNAL!!! In the future I plan to read more about preparing myself for the whimsical outdoor adventure ideas I get in my head.

Spooky Alligator Lake

New Years Resolution
My resolution this year is to make more of an attempt to show people how beautiful and special I find them. I also am going to try to physically touch people more often.

New Orleans
(inspired by the Limerick posts on Give it To Me Raw)

There once was a woman named Mestival.
She went to the Raw Spirit Festival.
There she said, "Hey dawlins!"
"I hail from N'wallins!"
"And I eat raw food like the resta y'all!"

Thats it.

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Good Morning, December! I LOVE YOU!

2007-12-04T13:52:00.000-06:00

Hello! It's DECEMBER!!!! YAY!

The Thanksgiving Dinners were fun. I had 8 orders total and here is a very cool part: every single person who ordered from me gave me MORE than I was charging! I even got an entire avocado pie as a gift from Raw Chef Marion! WOW! Thank you, Everyone! I was really touched.

I made, as promised:

cornbread dressing (corn, cashews, celery, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, etc.)

brazil nut patties with a creamy gravy on top (brazil nuts, celery, parsley, etc, dehydrated overnight)

a spinach/satsuma/candied pecan salad

and carrot cake!

All in all, I actually made about 5 carrot cakes because I brought them to various Thanksgiving Day gatherings. Raw carrot cake is GOOD! I'm perfecting my own recipe...will it post soon...

I've been riding a bike a lot lately.

Thank you for getting me around and getting me out in the weather, closer to the trees and wind and sky, Bike. I love you.

I had my first solo urban foraging adventure the other morning when I got the guts to climb the fence of this vacant property and gather a backpack full of lemons from a lemon tree.

These lemons have a lot of seeds, but they are humongous!

Thank you, Lemon Tree! I love you.

I made Carmella's Banana Chocolate Cream Cake with frozen blueberries in place of bananas:

It is de-LISH-ious! Thank you, Carmella! I love you!!!

December!! Welcome. Time for HOT CHOCOLATE!!! I had my first raw hot chocolate today: Raw cacao powder with warm water and honey. I'm a convert. Who knew???

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Thanksgiving!!!

2007-11-15T12:33:00.000-06:00

This beautiful woman:

has awarded me with the:

What a compliment! She is living quite the inspirational life herself. She has a terrific blog, takes magical photos, and seems to have this superhuman quality of living life through a perspective that brings delight to all whom encounter her. Thank you, Suki!!!

In return for this honor, I must award 5 recipients of my own choice and here they are:

~Carmella~ Carmella's blog, TheSunnyRawKitchen.blogspot.com, is helping the world go raw! Her raw creations constantly drop my jaw and cause me to salivate. Her kindness and generosity shine through everything she does and her photos and recipes are helping to create the PLANETARY SHIFT we are now experiencing!

~Raw Rob~ I am regulary fascinated and inspired by Raw Rob's passion for, respect for and knowledge of all things natural, wild and consciousness-related. Plus, I think he's a dynamo. He seems to be doing about a million things. He blogs at RawRob.com, has an online Funky Raw Shop, publishes a Funky Raw Magazine, throws a Funky Raw Festival, and has a Funky Raw Website.

~Marta~ Marta is The Enchantingly Witty Polish Rawk and Roll Beauty: RAWVOLTA! Her blog rawvolta.wordpress.com is full of great photos and videos. She inspires me to get better at handstands!! Plus, she is one of my Soul Sisters.

~Phillip~ Phillip is Inspiration Incarnate. I only recently found his website LovingRaw.com and his blog, but I love it and everything he is doing. He inspires me supremely.

~Raw Model~ I also very recently found Raw Model Anthony's blog. I really love it! He's a very handsome guy who has a matter-of-fact and let's-do-it-NOW approach to how he is changing his lifestyle and becoming a more conscious inhabitant of this planet.

We are so lucky to have all these awesome bloggers, yes? There are more great blogs listed in the right margin here ---->

Moving onto food...

HEY, LET'S CELEBRATE!!!

Thanksgiving is almost here!!! I've decided what I am making for the Raw Thanksgiving Dinners To-Go:

-spinach salad with local citrus and candied pecans
-cornbread dressing
-brazil nut croquettes with gravy
-carrot cake

I'm psyched.

Here are a few photos of some of the things I have been playing around with:

This is Matt Amsden's recipe for Onion Bread - made with onion rings instead of processed onions. It comes out like fried onion rings or onion fritters and tastes dynamite!*

This is Ani Phyo's wilted spinach salad recipe from the book Ani's Raw Food Kitchen.*

This is mashed sweet potatoes from Brigitte Mars' book Rawsome!*

*Recipes coming soon.

I wanted to do some non-holiday food too so I ventured into the world of...

Raw Tacos:

They don't last long.

Corn Tortillas
adapted from Sergei and Valya Boutenko's Recipe for corn chips in their book 'Eating Without Heating'

4 c corn (I use frozen organic yellow, I like the yellow more than the white. Not sure why)
1/4 c olive oil
1/2 c H2O
1/4 - 1/2 t salt
1/2 c ground flax
1/4-1/2 t chili pepper flakes ground up

I blend everything except the flax, place it in a bowl, then add the flax. Mix and dehydrate.

Taco Meat
This recipe is something in between Ani Phyo's and Matt Amsden's. I at least double it when I make it.

1 1/2 c walnuts
1 T cumin
1 T ground coriander
1 T (or less) Bragg's

Process walnuts in the FP. Remove and mix with other ingredients.

Sour Cream
(generic recipe)

1 c cashews (soaked for 4 hours or so)
juice of 1/2 - whole lemon
1/2 c (more or less) H2O
optional: salt

General Notes
-I've tried out my fair share and then some of dehydrated raw foods. I think the corn tortilla recipe might be my favorite. I like it as a bread because it is not sprouted grains and the flavor of it is INCREDIBLE! It has this wonderful sweetness to it. It makes a great all around "wrap" for any sort of filling and it also soaks up salad dressings well. When you use white corn, its really like bread. These tacos look to me so much like cooked food and they have been a big hit with everyone I have shared them with.

Fun with Fruit Roll-Ups
I've been making fruit roll-ups like a madwoman. My mom placed an "order" for a bunch of them because she loves fruit, has no spare time and wants to eat well. You can do SOOO much with these little things.

Basic Recipe
3 bananas
3 pieces of fruit

Blend and dehydrate. You can use frozen organic strawberries, raspberries or blueberries to make berry banana flavors. You can also add in some young coconut meat to the roll-ups. I made pina colada roll-ups with some pineapple, bananas and coconut meat. Wow. Those were good. You can also make green smoothie roll-ups by throwing in some spinach or kale with the bananas. I made some with just bananas and spirulina and then some with bananas and Vitamineral Green powder. Can't wait to take it hiking.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

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Giving Thanks

2007-10-29T14:11:00.001-05:00

After the Raw Spirit Festival, I found myself experiencing a huge burst of inspiration. In fact, before I went to the festival, I wasn't expecting much. I wasn't sure what to expect, and to be honest, I was a little afraid of going. I had begun to seesaw back and forth between the worlds of cooked and raw food. Were it not for the spontaneous last-minute generosity of a wonderful family I had never met who offered to give me a ride and a camping spot with them, I might not have even gone. Because of a small miracle, not only was I able to attend the festival, but I had the opportunity to spend time with and get a glimpse of the lives of 5 terribly beautiful and special people who are now very dear to my heart.

Thank you Kise', Danny, Peri, Abbey, and Julius!!! I love you guys SOOO much!!!!!

As I began to drive home once we got back from the festival, I started thinking about the holidays and how I was going to face all the cooked food. Then I thought, well I should just make a marvelous raw Thanksgiving dinner so I don't even need to worry about the cooked food. Then I thought about all the people who are dreading all that Thanksgiving food just like me and I thought - Wow. I should try and make a marvelous raw Thanksgiving dinner to-go! One that is affordable, can be purchased easily and picked up on Thanksgiving morning!!! So that is what I am doing and I encourage anyone else to do it also.

What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than with raw foods, anyway! Eating raw really helps cultivate a sense of gratitude for everything. That is one thing that being at the festival reminded me of.

Plus, the added benefit is that I get to eat exquisite raw holiday food starting NOW!

Here are some of the foods I have been making:

Easy Kim Chee Salad
by Emily Lee Angell, from The Complete Book of Raw Food.
Serves: 6, Special Equipment: none

1 medium head Napa or other green cabbage
1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
3 carrots, peeled and grated
1 c cilantro leaves
2 T grated ginger
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1 T Celtic sea salt
1/4 c apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
1/4 c honey
3 T olive oil
1 t dried red chili flakes or any Asian red chili sauce
1-2 avocados, cut in small cubes

Mix everything except avocado together well in a bowl. Adjust the spices to taste and let salad sit for 1 hour, until the cabbage wilts. Sever topped with avocado cubes. This salad will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

personal note: this is one of my favorite cabbage salad recipes.

Mashed Potatoes
by Juliano, from the book RAW

3 c chopped caluiflower
1 c cashews
1/2 c lemon juice
1/2 c fresh thyme, chopped
1 T minced garlic
1 T Celtic seasoning

Blend cauliflower in a blender using a little lemon juice and add remaining ingredients. If you have a Green Power Juicer, use it instead. Hocus pocus! You have mashed potatoes!

personal note: next time I might use less lemon juice and soak the cashews a bit first

Marvelous Mushroom Soup
by Nomi Shannon from her book The Raw Gourmet

1/2 c water
1/4 c almond butter
1 1/2 c quartered mushrooms
1 T liquid aminos
1 pinch sea salt

In a blender, combine the water and almond butter and blend. Add the mushrooms, liquid aminos and salt. Blend until smooth.

personal note: I used this as gravy and it was STELLAR!

Meat loaf
by Juliano, from the book RAW

1 1/3 c walnuts
1 1/3 c sunflower seeds
1 1/3 c almonds
1 T minced garlic
1/2 T Celtic sea salt
1/2 c fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 c chopped celery
2 c Marinated Portobello, chopped (see recipe below)
1 T chopped onion
1/2 T minced ginger
2 T fresh rosemary, minced
1 T fresh tarragon, minced
1 c red bell pepper, chopped
1 T minced jalapeno
1 1/2 t cumin seeds
1/2 c olive oil

Soak sunflower seeds and almonds in enough water to cover for 2-6 hours. Soak walnuts for 1/2 hour. Drain and throw the nuts and seeds into a food processor with the minced garlic. If you have a Green Power, push them through -- they're best when homogenized. Process until the contents develop a dough-like consistency. Add a dash of olive oil if the dough is too thick. Stir in the Celtic sea salt, presley, celery, portobello, onion, ginger, rosemary, tarragon, bell pepper, jalapeno, cumin seeds, and olive oil. Mix well. On a solid dehydrating sheet shape the mixture into a loaf about 1 1/2 inches high. Dehydrate for 3-4 hours at 90 degrees.

personal note: I think I dehydrated this for 12-24 hours. I had more leftover and I used it to stuff mushrooms with. Magnific!

Marinated Portobello
by Juliano

2 c diced portobello mushrooms
1 c Nama Shoyu
1/4 c olive oil

In a bowl soak mushrooms in Nama Shoyu and olive oil for at least 10 minutes, up to 6 hours. Note: if you don't have Nama Shoyu, substitute 1/4 c miso and 1 1/2 cups fresh-squeezed orange juice. Discard marinade.

personal note: I used 1/4 c Bragg's aminos instead of 1 c of Nama Shoyu and it was still too salty for my taste. Other than that, it was great!

Viola!

I will continue to update this post with more holiday-style recipes.

---
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Raw Spirit Fest Photos

2007-10-20T13:12:00.000-05:00

Here are some photos I took of the 2007 Raw Spirit Festival:

Happy Oasis and Friends

Wise Women's council

Asha of Pacific Domes

Superfood cereal

lunch

sprout salads!

chocolates!

Kathy Zavada

Speaker's Panel

Jasmuheen

Hira Ratan Manek

Cherie Soria

Feather Jones on the herb walk

Sproutman Steve

Jameth Sheridan

Jasmuheen

Feel welcome to view my entire Raw Spirit Fest 2007 Photo Album

Even better than these photos is this fantastic video by Phillip of LovingRaw.com:

For more details on the Raw Spirit Fest, check out Heidi and Justin S. Ohlander's blog article on it.

Thanks to Everyone spreading this energy.

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To Fast or Not to Fast, That is the Question...

2007-09-08T11:52:00.001-05:00

Oh boy...its been a while since I blogged last. I've had very limited computer access lately and its been really nice. But I miss it. There is something I have been wanting to blog about for a long time now: my recent fasting experiences. So here goes (watch out, this one's a humdinger!):

Some Background
Since April, I have not held a job. I was working at the local farmers market selling my homemade raw food snacks and goodies, but then I wanted to devote more energy and time to gardening, growing food and being outdoors near plants. I felt stuck inside in the kitchen when I really wanted to be in the yard. I was selling all this dehydrated stuff but I was being drawn more and more to fresh foods. I didn't know what to do. So one day I just quit the market, even though it seemed up until that point like my dream job. And it was! But then things kept changing. I kept changing. So my dreams changed a little, too.

Occupation: Professional Soul-Searcher
But there were no jobs I wanted. I didn't want to trade in my enthusiasm and energy to some business entity that wasn't performing sustainably towards the planet and that was just going to drain me of my enthusiasm and energy in return. I wanted a job that would help me build up even MORE energy and enthusiasm and in the meantime, be meaningful to me. Where are those jobs??? Do they exist???? I still don't know. But in the meantime, I decided I was going to take the opportunity of having no responsibility to take care of and do some things I had been wanting to do for a while. During the month of June (I think it was) I was inspired to do a juice fast. I fasted for 7 days on juice. It was very interesting to me. While I was at the bookstore one day, I found a book called The Fasting Path: For Spiritual, Emotional, and Physical Healing and Renewal by Stephen Harrod Buhner.

I read some of it and went back the next day and finished the book right there in the bookstore. In the book the author, Mr. Stephen Buhner, discusses the reasons for, benefits and logistics of water fasting. I was completely drawn to the idea of taking this inner journey in the hopes of experiencing mental clarity, higher levels of energy and a profound sense of life purpose and direction. I knew I really really wanted to try it. One of the things that Mr. Buhner stresses in his book is the importance of being out in wilderness during a water fast. I was really drawn to that idea, too.

In preparation for the water fast, I decided to try and juice fast for 14 days and then go straight into the water fast. So I began another longer juice fast. I had been wanting to do another one anyway since I experienced so much from the first one. My mom called me a few weeks before and asked me to come help her with some things at her home in Alabama and since I had been wanting to visit her, I knew I needed to go. So I packed up my things and headed out to AL on my 5th or 6th day of the juice fast.

I lasted for about 9 days. On the 10th day, somewhat out of the blue, I got VERY VERY HUNGRY!!!! So I ate food and felt proud that I made it 9 days this time.

To Fast or Not to Fast???
Then I wasn't sure about the water fast anymore. I began to have some doubts. I felt great after the juice fast so why did I need to bother with more fasting? After a week of eating LOTS of food and food that I don't even normally eat, including TONS of cooked food, I felt lost. I began thinking of the water fast again. My mom lives literally about 7 minutes from a beautiful state park. I knew there was a campground with facilities there and I also knew they allowed primitive camping out in the forest. The cost for camping at the campground was $10/night and I didn't want to go spend $70 dollars that I had no business spending, but I have only primitive camped once in my life and it was just this past June. Not to mention that that time it was with an eagle boyscout. I wanted to be a girl scout when I was younger, but when I tried they told me the troop was full. So my wilderness experiences are extremely limited. But the cost for primitive camping was only $3/night and Mr. Buhner did stress the importance of being out in the wilderness during the fast - away from normal conveniences and ways of life. Something told me that he didn't really mean a campground. So after one day of feeling utterly miserable, I packed up the next morning, drove to the park, and registered for 2 days of primitive camping. I was scared, but I had no where else to go. I wasn't ready to go home yet, nothing in my life felt resolved. Plus I was feeling pretty down and out after a week of doing not too much of anything except eating lots of crazy food. So I just took the plunge.

Water Fasting in the Forest
The Fasting Path book had lead me to conclude that the perfect amount of time for me was going to be 7 days of fasting. After the first night, I knew I could do it. Many conditions were in my favor. I was able to camp close to my car so I didn't have to carry much water around. I was near a civilization and my mom's house in case I needed to be. I made a friend at the state park so I had a great hiking buddy for some of the longer hikes I did. And it was really quiet, peaceful, and beautiful out in the woods. Oh, and there are no bears in the state of Alabama. I am actually sad that the bears are extinct there, but I was honestly also very relieved.

I journaled my experiences of the entire fast in great detail, but I will spare those details here and just get to the main points of things. The first day and night were the worst in terms of comfort, only to rivaled by one other day (the 6th). My intestines were in knots all day from the food I had eaten the day before, so I didn't have to worry about fending off a healthy appetite. But I had a very painful headache most of the night and slept restlessly on the hard ground. In the early morning my headache finally went away, I got a few hours of sleep and did some hiking after I woke up.

In Breif:
My fast lasted 6 days. On the sixth day I was miserable. The temperature had been 106 degrees that day (!!!) and I had absolutely no energy for what felt like an eternity of a day. I enjoyed lots of energy for most of the fast, but on the fifth day I was perhaps a bit too ambitious and went on an 8 mile hike in the foothills in 104 degree weather and it wore me out com-plete-ly. I foolishly sat out in the sunshine after the hike to catch some rays. Another bad idea. Alabama was experiencing an abnormally intense heat wave during this time (late August). I woke up the next day and there was no breeze. It took all the energy I could muster just to sit up in my tent. I spent the entire day lying down on a picnic table in the shade wishing I wasn't hot, bored, energy-less and extremely uncomfortable. That evening as I was trying to muster the energy to get off the picnic table and return to my steambox tent, I just decided that drinking coconut water and spending the night with mom in her air conditioned house that night was going to be the best idea in the world.

Another item of note: Foodwise, I was barely hungry during the fast and after the first three days, food was only something in my thoughts here and there. I was delighted by my absence of appetite since it made things feel so much easier.

I experienced a lot of things on the fast. Lots of significant dreams and lots of significant thoughts. I also got to spend a lot of time outside with Mother Nature and with myself. On the sixth night, I had coconut water, chocolate almond milk, and a few bites of food. I wasn't too hungry, though. Just exhausted. The next day I felt AWESOME! I went on a beautiful 6 mile hike and felt more joyful and energized than I had in I don't know how long. I felt like my little girl self. I wanted to run around and jump all over the place laughing and giggling.

Several days later, I returned home. Its been hard being back home and having to face all my old responsibilities again. I'm still eating some cooked food. Mostly grain-based stuff. The good news is I'm eating cooked foods that I have prepared for myself which means they tend to be much more wholesome and healthy than most foods available at stores or restaurants. I've been making things like vegan chocolate chip cookies with high quality ingredients (coconut butter, malt-sweetened choc. chips, fresh almond meal flour, whole spelt flour, maple syrup, etc). I love them.

After I got home I had an epiphany and realized that I am very attached to my ego. I'm considering this a blessing (the realization, not the attachment).

I'm still without a job and wondering what I should do next. I've got lots of gigantic ideas, though :-)

I'm also looking forward to my next water fast. I can't wait to do it again.

Here are some photos:

I think this is day 2 or 3 of the water fast.

Here is the lovely park I got to explore:

And here I am the day after the water fast:

I'm posting these photos and sharing this story in the hopes that it might inspire someone. Ghandi did it. Jesus did it. I was a fasting skeptic up until recently, but now I really think fasting can potentially play an important role in the healing and awakening of Planet Earth.

One last thing: Does anyone want to purchase my extra ticket to the Raw Spirit Fest? Please let me know by October 1st (tomorrow) by sending me an email: fulfillingmyself@gmail.com
Also feel free to email that address for any reason whatsoever.

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Girls in the Greenhouse - A Real World Summertime Fairytale

2007-07-20T15:20:00.000-05:00

According to wikipedia, "Four of the World's ten longest bridges are located entirely within the U.S. state of Louisiana." WOW!!! Being a native gal from Southern Louisiana, I feel swollen with pride when I think about that. I love my beautiful state. Above the colorful city of New Orleans, LA, lies the Great Big Beauty: Lake Pontchartrain (we say "ponch-a-train").

Across this Beautiful Blue Abyss lies the Longest Bridge in the entire world: The Causeway (can you see it in the picture?). And boy do I love the Causeway. If there is such a thing as driving meditation, its the best meditation drive ever!

There is a woman on this planet whom I have the utmost respect, admiration, and love for. To say that I am grateful for her presence in my life doesn't begin to touch upon how much she means to me. I think the world of her and I feel such a Huge Love for her. Her name is Tommie. She is like my Teacher, my Friend, my Sister, my Other Mother and my Guardian Angel all wrapped up in one beautiful person. She is an organic sprout/shoot farmer.

A Summertime Fairytale

Once upon a time I drove across the Longest Bridge in the World to visit a Sprout Princess. To get to her I had to cross a Sea of Blue where the water was the sky and the sky was the water.

Together, we worked and played in a Room of Green where magical things took place.

The Slithery Snakes that live near the Princess gave us silent warnings of their presence and we were very careful everywhere we went.

It was a safe place, though. There were many beings watching over us and protecting us at all times.

I watched the daughter of the Princess as she charmed a Dragon Fly.

On the last day, before I went home, I went to the Land of Blue Berries and gathered buckets of sweet small blue balls and I picked out a Giant Magical Melon from a man I encountered on the road back. It was full of sweet Red Goodness with Lucky Black Seeds.

When I got home, with the help of my Friend the Champion, I made Creamy Red Melon Milk (most of which I froze) which will nourish me throughout the summer.

The End

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More Melons and Grapefruits Galore

2007-07-06T15:56:00.000-05:00

Hello!

These are the five varieties of melon growing in the yard right now...(these are heirloom varieties from Seeds of Change)

I'm not sure they will make it through to the ripening stage since some of the plants are showing signs of weariness, but I'll keep you posted...

The grapefruits are almost done for the season here, but my friend Jay is a grapefruit fanatic (I am one in the making) and he keeps a stash of frozen grapefruit juice in his freezer to get him through the summer. So last night I got to witness and be part of the Grapefruit Juicing Extravaganza!!!! We set up shop down in the basement. First we had to wash and then dry all the Gfruits so that no dirt could sneak into the juice (this was my job). Then we had to halve and press all the juice out of the fruit and pour it into glass jars for freezing (Jay's job).

If you or a friend has a grapefruit tree and you have more fresh fruit than you can eat, I highly recommend making your own frozen fruit juice stash. Its exceptionally nice and refreshing to have a cold grapefruit juice slushy on a hot summer day:) mmmmmmmmmmm hmmmm...yessireee...

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Floods and the Forest

2007-07-01T17:16:00.001-05:00

Hello!
What's been happening? Let's see...

The garden flooded...

...but everything was fine...

...I went camping in the forest...

...the tent flooded...

...but everything was fine...

It was difficult to plan to eat raw on this trip, but in the end things went successfully. Every morning for breakfast I ate a grapefruit - halved and sprinkled with generous amounts of Barleymax. That was a nice fruity green treat each day. I love grapefruit!!! I made some fancy herbed nut patties and ate those when I needed something hearty. In the evenings I had salads and I snacked on dates, rehydrated dried fruits, and raw chocolate throughout each day. It was hard to keep the greens fresh, but my solution to that problem is to eat more wild greens from the forest next time:) Thanks to Carmella, Raw Rob, and Shell, I have been getting some useful lessons in wild edibles lately;)

When I got back from the camping trip I was delighted to see how much fun the melon plants were having...

I got to pick a bunch of goodies, too!

The trip was pretty rugged and physically demanding and I wasn't really mentally prepared for exactly how much stamina I was going to need, so the first three days I was kind of miserable. Then I adapted. The rest of the trip was magical and glorious after that:)

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How old am I?

2007-06-16T10:26:00.000-05:00

I went to the beach with some of my family a few weeks ago. I learned/remembered something about my mom. She likes the seashells. Even the very, very small ones.

I had a dream this morning just before I woke up. I was with two friends from my childhood, but we were grown up. Not just grown up through. We were these beautiful, pure women. We were...our child selves in the most incredible forms. We met to go swimming together. We were at the beach, but then we walked out to this crazy spot where you could dive into the water from way up above. We just all sat at the top talking, looking down at the water. Being simple girls, just talking and laughing and experiencing pleasure. I was afraid to dive into the water (I have always been afraid of being in water) and was glad we were just sitting at the top. My friends...they understood. They didn't mind. Because they loved me so very much.

I feel different this morning. In the dream I was my child-self. Mostly just pure soul. Pureness. Innocence. Upon waking, I was flooded with all these childhood memories of those two friends and that time in my life. And how good we were and how simple we were and how simple life was. I felt like a part of my brain had opened back up this morning that I hadn't used since way back then.

Yesterday, I sat in my backyard eating a most delicious salad made up of mixed greens from the store, some sunflower greens and cherry tomatoes from the yard, and a creamy fresh basil dressing. Oh, and some some pine nuts. There were children playing in the yard next to mine. I watched them for a while. They were running ALL OVER! And giggling and shrieking and smiling. I used to do that. I want to do it again now.

I saw these pictures the other day of women my age in shorts and shirts jumping...just jumping sooooo gleefully! They were on a lawn. They were having so much fun. I want to jump with them! And do cartwheels and handstands and backbends and walk like a crab and sing songs and ride bikes maybe hula hoop and discover things together. Now THAT sounds like serious fun.

When I was at the beach a few weeks back, my mom and I went for a walk. We found this really special spot that had hundreds and hundreds of beautiful little shells.

This is my mom:

She makes some great faces. She's melodramatic (thats where I get it from).

I wonder if she realizes that she is more beautiful and special than all the shells in all the world. I love her very much.

Is it the raw foods, my friends? YOU must decide...

2007-06-14T16:24:00.000-05:00

Hmmmm...where to begin??? How about some photos?

Here are some photos of my garden as of late...(click photos for full size view and descriptions)
This album is powered by BubbleShare - Add to my blog

If you are curious, here is an album of the May NOLA (New Orleans Louisiana) Raw Food Potluck featuring raw foodist Mr. Matt Monarch.

Here are some scones I made the other day in the dehydrator (blueberry and vanilla flax):

I've been feeling like being quiet lately...thus the hiatus from blogging. I think I finally realized that all the things that are happening in my life have a lot less to do with raw foods and a lot more to do with me. This has been extremely liberating because now I can stop trying to "help" people eat raw. Here are a few things I wrote a little while ago and have been meaning to post:

I've noticed that as I take better and better care of myself, my capabilities are growing and increasing. I realize now that my main goal in life is to take care of myself. I will plan to do so through fresh air, diet, sunlight, movement and exercise, reading, keeping my mind open, practicing positivity and connecting to nature and the miracles that occur around me all the time.

I've recently experienced some disappointments. After letting some time pass, I now see that those disappointments were very very good - blessings in fact, and I am glad I felt them because they are helping me grow and go further. Each of us helps ourself in our own way and everyone's way is different. I'm beginning to see that however far along I am in actualizing my dreams and my potential has much less to do with raw foods and much more to do with:

-listening to my heart
-trusting myself
-loving myself
-forgiving myself
-be open to and curious about new ideas and ways of living
-seeing how beautiful I am and how beautiful this world is
-learning from within, and
-embracing this miraculous experience we call LIFE.

It has been such a burden off my shoulders to realize that I am responsible for my growth, not raw foods or anyone/anything else. Now I see more clearly that I don't need to preach to anyone about raw foods (please remind me of this if I forget!). I can offer my own experience if/when it is solicited, but I don't need to waste any more energy on helping people "go raw". After all, then I would be robbing them of the ability to help and heal themselves. I feel strongly that the keys to healing the world will come from within each individual. These realizations have released me to live my life and turn even more energy inward and towards myself and my own healing.

I had a nice thought today. I realized that I am living my dream life. I cannot ask for anything more. I may struggle along the way, but thank God for struggles!! They are the little miracles, the blessings, that occur so that we can push ourselves further. I hope I have LOTS more struggles in my life because I plan on going a lot further. I want to always grow. Maybe even death is a way of growing. I am ready to devote myself fully to taking the very best care I can of myself at absolutely all costs. For me this includes eating raw foods, growing my own food, surrounding myself as much as possible with other living things and therefore spending lots of time outside, among other things... All the rest will fall into its proper place.

Yours truly,

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Honesty and Juice

2007-05-17T17:05:00.000-05:00

Photos: I am growing some sunflower greens.

(5:46PM)

YAHHHHHHHHHH! So much is happening right now! Do you feel the same way????

I woke up with butterflies in my stomach this morning! For one thing, Matt (Freakin) Monarch is coming to town tomorrow and I will get to meet him and hear him speak about raw foods to me and my friends here in New Orleans!!!!!!!!! hip hip HOORAYYYYYYYYY! I think it is going to be SO INCREDIBLE!!!!!!! This feels bigger than Christmas and my birthday put TOGETHER! I am terribly terribly utterly terribly excited...

My friend Alex sells these incredible organic grade A vanilla beans for super cheap. When I called him to place my order, we got to chatting about raw food and he made a comment about the relationship between raw foods and doing what you love. He pointed out that once you get really into raw foods, and this is something he was paraphrasing from David Wolfe I believe, that you can no longer do the things you don't like to do anymore. You just can't. That idea is exactly in line with my own experience of raw foods so far. I would agree with it wholeheartedly! Then I kept thinking and I even want to go a step further and point out something else I believe eating raw has done to me...

I have been getting a lot of awesome feedback lately on my blog (Thank you everyone who is sending me this awesome feedback! It means SO MUCH to me. It really helps keep things going strong.) One of the things that I've noticed that different people seem to be telling me is that they appreciate the honesty I write with. Hmm. I can see why they might say that since I have poured quite a bit of my deepest self out onto this thing - this blog. But here's the thing...the raw food made me do it!!!! (giggle) Well, not really, of course, but actually, sort of:)

The point that I am trying to make here is that raw food has made more honest. And open. And unashamed. I used to hoard tons of food in my room and eat massive amounts of junk food in secret away from family and friends. I would gorge on donuts and poptarts and chips and various milk chocolate things...I would try and hide all this behavior from everyone, though I have a feeling that those closest to me had a feeling about what was going on. I was never bulimic or anorexic, I was just a compulsive eater. My relationship with food and myself has only gotten better since I've embraced raw foods. There have been some difficult moments along the way, but in the big scheme of things, my life has begun to blossom. I have begun to blossom.

I've never been much of a juicer. There are various reasons for that, one of which is simply that I am a big fiber buff. I feel like fiber is a magic broom that helps sweep me clean. Plus, I don't like to waste. Plus I don't have a super juicer, just an el cheapo one. For some strange reason, this past week or so, I have really really REALLY been wanting juice. It started with my cold and feeling sick. I kept reading how people were knocking their colds out with juices. So I made some juice for myself. My cold is now gone. Can I say that my cold went away because I drank juice? No. I can only make observations and continue to pay attention to things. Now my cold is gone, but I still want juice. I can't explain it. Part of the reason is because I feel ready to take things to the next level. Part of the reason is because I finally feel ready to begin a juice journey.
I'm pretty excited to make juicing a normal part of my diet now. Green juice, in particular. I made a huge glass today and I feel like my feet just aren't touching the ground.

I had fun taking some goofy pictures of myself drinking juice.

I have never felt so good before in my entire life. My life keeps getting better and better. It really is amazing.

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Are You Feeling Beautiful? (Plus: FUN DRINKS!)

2007-05-11T03:31:00.000-05:00

Photos: sun beverages

(1:57 AM)
I still have this funky cold. Mish suggested I drink veggie juices with lots of ginger and garlic. It sounded like a good plan, so I went to the store and picked up a few things. I've never been a big fan of ginger, but for the sake of health, I want to have more of a friendship with it. I got the idea to cut it up, put it in water with some minced mint and stick it out in the sun to make mint/ginger tea. I've never made tea or any beverage in the sun, but what the heck, right? I also put out a jar with just minced mint and another jar with some decaf green tea (my usual of late). I sweetened the mint/ginger tea with honey and it was fine, but it didn't seem painfully strong. So I got more ambitious and blended some lemon, water, honey, and a LOT of ginger and then strained it. Here is what I got....

Holy cow, that stuff was HOT HOT HOT!!!! I hope it was worth the pain.

I went to a yoga class at the New Orleans Yoga Center a few evenings ago. I don't think I am very good at yoga, but I do like it. I want to start doing more of it. I try practicing "Audry Yoga" at home, but its pretty goofy stuff. The people near me in the class the other day were so good, I wanted to just stop and watch them. Maybe I should have...Yoga is so beautiful! I even like just saying the word "yoga"....yoga....yoga...

I have been feeling a bit tom-boyish and not in touch with my femininity and beauty the last few days, so I have been putting some energy into feeling pretty. I haven't shaved my legs or armpits in a while, so I did that yesterday. Then today, I piled my hair up on the top of my head in a nice pretty bun. These things helped and I will continue to put more energy in these directions.

I've been thinking lately about women and our body images. I think most women (and perhaps men, also) have a strong sense of body image. I'm beginning to have a greater and greater respect and appreciation for this concept of Body Image - of one's perception of his/her body's beauty or lack there-of. Regardless of my beauty or nonbeauty perceived through the eyes of others, I am realizing that my own perception of my body/beauty can serve me as a very useful tool . I am beginning to see that when I am feeling not-so-beautiful it is only an opportunity for me to pay attention and use that energy to work on myself in some way, be it coming up with creative ways to keep improving my diet, making time for some form of exercise, or just simply doing something - anything- that I think will lift my mood. Inner messages relating to my body image have proven to be a resource for improving myself and my life in general when I accept and pay attention to them. I think many people suffer from negative body images. I like to think that our negative body images and thoughts are really only messages from within, our body/mind's natural way of urging us to do something, change something or work on something within ourselves so that we can become more of who we truly are.

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***NOTE: the comment section for this post disappeared somehow when I went to insert the photos. I don't know how to get it back. Dan: I hope you are having some luck and fun with mint tea concoctions:)