Peppercorn is one of the most popular of spices. It is universal in appeal; a must have staple in any kitchen. When pepper runs low in our house I don’t know who gets to the store quicker, me or my husband, neither one of us can image eating without it. A pinch or more adds hot taste without the “heat”. We use pepper in every type of recipe imaginable.

Varieties

Black, green, red, and white peppercorn are all from the same flowering vine plant, Piper Nigrum. Green peppercorn is unripe black peppercorn. Red peppercorn are fully ripened berries. White peppercorn is actually the inner kernel of the ripened black peppercorn [the outer haul is removed to reveal the inner kernel].

I had no idea [until now] that pink peppercorn comes from a different plant and isn’t even peppercorns! They are the dried berries from a rose plant called Baies.

Talk about interesting, I hadn’t heard of Long pepper until I stumbled across this rare find while perusing Mountain Rose Herbs site. Long pepper also comes from a flowering vine plant that is a close relative of black, green, and white pepper.

Saving what is considered two of the finest peppers in the world for last, Black Tellicherry and Black Malabar peppercorn both are larger peppercorn in size that have a robust and less pungent flavor than other black peppercorn.

Taste, Aroma, and Pepper in Recipes

Pepper has a hot taste with out the “heat” and is considered a warming spice. The flavor of each type varies, and of them all, black peppercorn has the most sharp, pungent aroma and flavor, followed by the less pungent Tellicherry and Malabar. Green and red peppercorn is milder in flavor, and white peppercorn gives a gentle punch. Pink peppercorn, or should I say pepper berry, has a delicate, pungent, sweet and spicy flavor. According to Mountain Rose Herbs, long pepper has a taste very similar to regular black pepper but with a much hotter taste and an almost earthy, sweet overtone.

For an inconspicuous monotone look, consider color coordinating the peppercorn to the color and hue of a dish or recipe. You might use white peppercorn in light-colored dishes or soups, for example. But you don’t have to conceal the fact that pepper is there, you can use pepper to play off the color of a dish too. Pepper isn’t limited to savory dishes either. Have you ever tried fresh cracked pepper with strawberries? It’s really nice. Pepper adds a delicate warm spiciness to fruit dishes and desserts. Pink pepper berries go especially well in fruit sauces and desserts.

Freshly Cracked or Ground

I usually buy whole organic peppercorn. I prefer to buy whole instead of pre-ground pepper because for my taste, there’s nothing like freshly cracked or ground pepper. Whole peppercorn has a longer shelf life and will keep its flavor far longer than pre-ground pepper when stored properly. Whether you buy ground or whole, be sure to store your pepper in a cool, dry place.

Freshly cracked or ground pepper is the best and there are a few ways to get the job done: 1) use the side of a wide chef’s knife, 2) use a spice and pepper grinder, or 3) use a mortar and pestle. It is convenient to buy ground pepper, and that is your choice, there is certainly nothing wrong with doing so. One other great thing about grinding whole peppercorn is that you can grind it to the consistency you need.

Tip: finely ground pepper powder dissolves easily and seasons food more evenly than coarser pepper grains.

The Giveaway

At the end of this month, one of your names will be drawn from the comment section of this post, and our wonderful sponsor Mountain Rose Herbs will send a gift assortment of peppercorn products to the winning participant. Thank you, good luck, and have fun experimenting with the variety of peppercorn!

Related posts:

1. Lemongrass :: Herb of the Month
2. Hibiscus :: Herb of the Month + Sun Brewed Hibiscus Tisane
3. Nettle :: Herb of the Month

Photography and Text by Omid Jaffai

With the environment degrading more and more each day to overuse and genetic engineering tampering with our food supply and future, it is no wonder raw food is becoming a simple conscious choice in every day society. When we take the time to separate our emotions (a systematic interaction of neurons channeling and mixing of our memories, imaginations and the complexities of fibers) we end up feeding our bodies according to the way we feel, and thus our chemistry becomes accustomed to these types of nutritional mixologies and the result is outstanding at times. This is when the dangerous junction is formed that results in the designing and building of our future consciousness not only as an individual, but also as a mass.

Before I get carried away with the concepts of neuron psychology mixed with social reformisms, I would like to concentrate and simply break down some of the above views or concept into simple explanations in order to give you, the reader, a glimpse to the way I view the misinterpretations of simple wholesome eating and the misinterpretation of our feelings which results in the way we end up living our lives.

What is Biochemistry?

Biochemistry is basically the study of the chemical reactions of organisms-most specifically cellular activity within living organisms. Biochemistry deals with how the cells within the human body grow and function. What we eat affects our cellular activity or biochemistry.

Biochemistry and Our Foods within the Societies

Due to the increased threat of poverty, overconsumption, and safety risks in our food supply; more and more food manufacturers and mass crop farmers are depending upon genetic engineering and modification to produce more food cheaper, quicker, and ideally more qualitatively. The problem with these genetically modified crops and foods-though seemingly ideal for a variety of positive services that they provide-is how these foods are being modified or altered to provide these global solutions to the consumers demands. Not to mention making many pockets richer while putting many lives at risk.

It is through the new world of bioengineering that more than 60-70% of the foods we consume on a daily basis have been modified with genetically modified organisms. This figure is not my own, it is a fact which I am sure has been edited for a smooth get away! In animals, we see our livestock fed bioengineered feed and subject to genetic cloning. In plants, we find that most all-live crops are being spliced with chemically created organisms. Even if this is ok in some illogical way, there is no real research about the short and long-term biochemical effects that genetically modified organisms have on our bodies.

Studies are inconclusive in regards to the effects of genetically modified organisms on our bodies because it is a relatively new science. The FDA cannot approve any GMO altered food despite the fact that they make up so much of our present food supply-not to mention that our dependence upon GMO-produced foods increases more and more each day.

GMOs in Relation to Raw Foods or Any Foods

Like most raw foodists, you probably have made this life change for the overall bodily health that it serves by promoting enzyme efficiency and of course slowing down the degenerative motives. So, in keeping with only ingesting the purest of untouched fruits and vegetables, you probably opt for only organic foods. Unfortunately, this is not enough, beside the dramatic change within our ecosystem; gmo foods are not regulated and can contain any combination of natural and unnatural bioengineering ingredients.

Consequently, if you depend much more on fruits and vegetables, you are subjecting yourself to a higher percentage of possible allergies, diseases, and health conditions. This is why it is so crucial to ensure you know exactly what goes into the biochemistry of your foods, just like the way you should be with what goes into your body and it’s reaction to your emotions, actions, and future outcomes that resonates your destiny in simply feeling yourself. The best way, or should I say the safest way and the only way is to do so by buying only organic fruits, veggies, nuts & seeds, condiments, oils, etc., marked GMO-free or something of the like. Of course growing your own products is the surest way to go! But even still remember, without the label-the chances of it containing any kind of combination of ingredients is almost 100% positive that it is-in fact-genetically altered. Even though sometimes the label can be misusing!

Let’s face it: the world-unfortunately-is a much different place now than it once was. With the introduction of bioengineering into the world, we now have the ability to clone people, animals, plants, and the like. The purpose of bioengineering was initially to use biochemistry to produce more food cheaper, more quantitatively, and more qualitatively to serve the world and economy most efficiently. One of the biggest concerns-as noted above-is the possible effects on the human body and food chain by engineering our own new species of organisms-modified organisms. Due to this, not even our federal government knows how to test or classify these new foods, and if they can’t approve this foods-anyone can add anything to our foods, without recourse.

Folk Psychology, the End to our Emotional Eating

I would like to conclude in this last paragraph one of the main results of our emotional eating that is then mixed with all of the above concepts and bring home some thought provocative questions. In today’s fast track of human studies within the human science and philosophy department, and of course through the conscious of Raw Foodism we are starting to understand a simple seeming concept called Folk Psychology and how it can be eradicated via eliminative theory in a every day social culture.

Just to briefly say what Folk Psychology is. Folk Psychology is the study based on the way we humans have reasoned our feelings, pains, desire, actions, and the way we have come to conclude the type of knowledge that we have come to have. This is a very detailed area, but I would like to concentrate solely on the type of knowledge that we come to have that has to do with our emotions. It is through the knowledge of understanding of what pain is and of what feelings are that we come to conclude what the solutions would be.

For example, if so and so went for the golden arch after a meeting knowing the devastating results on his health, his conclusion is not a simple I don’t care, or this is going to make me feel better… but a long process of not understanding what feeling, pain, hate, or that it causes distress, wincing, and avoidance behavior is! Because Folk Psychology is simply a false misleading common sense psychological framework that is radically misleading conception of the causes of human behavior and the nature of cognitive activity, basically called YOU. On this stand point of eliminative theory, Folk Psychology (your understanding of emotions, pain etc) is not just an incomplete representation of our inner natures; it is an outright misrepresentation of our internal states and activities within the framework of our emotional eating disorders, and the way of not understanding or knowing to reason our bodies biochemistry, I.e. different types of fibers.

Please note that this could be the case while not only with a raw food or vegan or any other believed healthy diets or spiritual way of thinking or living. Simply said, we cannot expect a truly adequate neuro-scientific account of our inner emotions, to provide theoretical categories that match up nicely with the categories of our common-sense framework. Accordingly, we must expect that the older framework will simply be eliminated, rather than be reduced, by a matured self-reflected, self-observed, and self-separation from our emotional states of quail feelings that would then result to total self being, not self observation.

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This morning I decided to take stock of the fruits and vegetables we have one hand. I glanced at the dining room table and took a mental snap shot of the apples, oranges, and plums in a bowl looking like a pretty still-life.

Walking over to the refrigerator, I opened the door and taking a good look inside, I spotted two bags of recently forgotten carrots. We just bought them last week with a plan to make fresh carrot juice every other day. Our intentions were good, but somehow we plain forgot about those carrots. [I blame it on our busy schedules].

I gave a considerable amount of thought about our forgotten root vegetable. It is a common staple in most kitchens and I think they might get taken for granted in most cases. Well, one of those bags of carrots got prepped for juicing just as intended. But, I wanted to do something extra special with the juice so I looked to a recipe I created last year. The humble carrot gets juiced and jazzed up in a delicious drink called Carrot Cake Smoothie. What a treat. It’s like liquid carrot cake in a glass.

Carrot Cake Smoothie

To make larger servings, double, triple, etc., the ingredients as needed.

Prepare the walnut milk by blending 1 cup of walnuts with 2 cups filtered water. Strain the walnut milk through a nut bag or fine sieve. Run the carrots through a juicer. Add the walnut milk, carrot juice, and the remaining ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Cheers and enjoy!

Serving Suggestions
Serve immediately or chill in the refrigerator for an hour or until ready to serve.

Serves 1

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It has been months in the making, and finally, I am happy to post this interview with Nwenna Kai. She is an eco-entrepreneur, lecturer, food activist, raw vegan chef and instructor who has authored her first book, The Goddess of Raw Foods, but her accomplishments don’t stop there.

In 2007, Nwenna was the recipient of the Elizabeth Dole Young Entrepreneurial Grant from the organization Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) for her work as a health and wellness eco-entrepreneur. She is the previous owner of Taste of the Goddess Cafe, a raw vegan restaurant that was based in Los Angeles.

Nwenna has been interviewed on numerous television and radio shows, such as, E-Entertainment, The Travel Channel’s Taste of America, KTLA Channel 5 News, Blog Talk Radio, and has appeared in various magazines like LA Magazine.

I extend a long awaited warm welcome to Nwenna, and in this interview, she shares with us how she adapted raw food into her diet and her thoughts on embracing a raw vegan lifestyle, some fun information about herself, and more.

Enjoy the Interview…

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: Tell us about your eating history before embracing a raw food diet?

Nwenna Kai: I have been vegetarian since I was 14 years old and vegan since I was eighteen. Of course I’ve changed my diet from time to time. I spent some time in France when I was in college and I completely went back to eating meat because I just didn’t know how to stay vegetarian in France. Then I got really really sick and came back to the States and did the master cleanse for 14 days and got better. Then I went back to being vegan again.

Overall, I always ate really healthy. My parents always had fresh fruit available for us and we always had something green and fresh on our plates for dinner. We never ate out of cans or boxes. When I went to college, I was astonished to see people put two or three starches on one plate at a time. Having a green vegetable in my household was the rule, not an option. So that stayed with me.

IWB: When did you discover raw food and what inspired you adapt it to you lifestyle?

NK: I discovered raw foods in the year 2000 while I was an art student in Chicago. I was sick all the time. I was eating a mostly cooked vegan diet and I suffered from horrible headaches, acne, constipation, a thyroid disorder, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, anxiety, sciatica. You name it. I experienced it. So the constipation was the most debilitating so I said to myself if I ate salads and fresh juices for a week, then I’ve got to go to the bathroom and that’s what I did and I surely went to the bathroom. I just kept eating the salads until I was sick of salads and then I met someone on a yoga retreat who happened to be a raw foodist who introduced me to Karyn Calabrese’s restaurant in Chicago and I bought all the books and equipment and started experimenting with food.

What inspired to adapt it to my lifestyle was simply based on how I kept feeling. I just was feeling so good and the food was nourishing my body so I just kept educating myself about it.

IWB: What is the most amusing response or reaction that you’ve experienced when you told someone about the raw food diet?

NK: “Its dangerous to eat raw foods all the time because of all the bacteria.” Right? I had to laugh at that one. Or, “Are you going to make your kids eat that way too?” Like God forbid right? What’s interesting about these reactions is that people don’t even realize what they are saying. We are so programmed by other people’s programming which is programming by other people’s programming that we are on autopilot and we ourselves can’t see through our own stuff.

IWB: What people or events have most influenced your journey as a raw foodist?

NK: Karyn Calabrese’s restaurant was my first introduction to the world of raw foods, so she has been such an inspiration to me as a business woman, a raw foodist, and as a woman of color especially since the raw foods movement doesn’t really recognize people of color as much who are pioneers and leaders in this movement as well.

The events that influence me the most is when people reach out to me and tell me how much I’ve helped them. I also just love educating people about their health and well-being. Also being African American I am doing a lot of work in my own community with educating people. I grew up with a grandmother who grew collard greens in the middle of the ghetto in a community garden in West Philadelphia. Raw Foods is an interesting diet because some of the foods you can’t get them in the ghetto. You won’t find nori rolls, durian, or hemp seeds in the supermarkets in the ghetto but you can grow collard greens, tomatoes, and bell peppers anywhere so I love the simplicity of eating a raw foods diet. Some people think oh, I gotta have a lot of money to eat this way and you don’t. All those superfoods and stuff probably costs a lot of money and they taste really good but a ripe tomato just pulled out of the ground is like putting heaven on your tongue.

IWB: When did you decide to become a chef and how did you learn to “un” cook?

NK: Its funny because I never decided to become a chef. And I really don’t consider myself to be a chef. I love raw foods and I teach people about raw foods but I am self-taught and self-learned and I pretty much break all the rules around being a chef. But I learned how to “un” cook from eating this way and then from running my own restaurant.

IWB: Who inspires you as a chef?

NK: Definitely my own taste buds inspire me as well as my culture and background growing up in an African American family where food is like medicine. Simplicity also influences me since I’m such a simple person who likes ease and comfort at the same time so I create recipes based on what I would like to eat, what is functional in terms of what ingredients can I grab easily, are readily available, and simple and easy to make.

IWB: If we could have a peak into your kitchen pantry, what raw food staples would we find?

NK: I love seaweeds so I keep dulse flakes, nori rolls, wakame, and arame in my pantry. That’s as exotic as it gets.

IWB: What is/are your favorite kitchen gadget[s]?

NK: The Vitamix of course.

IWB: Tell us one [or more!] of your all-time favorite raw vegan recipes?

NK: Watermelon gazpacho soup. Its the best on a hot hot day.

IWB: What type of challenges, if any, have you faced with your family, friends and within your community since embracing a raw vegan lifestyle, and how have you overcome them?

NK: I still face challenges with friends and family who just don’t get it or understand. I still get asked questions like “you don’t eat fish or chicken” or “you eat like a bird” or “how can you get full from just eating vegetables and fruits all day”. But those challenges have dwindled over the years as my life is full of people who want to be healthy and eat better and so instead of critcizing, they are calling me asking me for advice and recipes.

IWB: What are you most proud of as a raw vegan?

NK: I am most proud that I healed a lot of my physical ailments with a raw foods diet and I also that I have a testimonial to use to teach and inspire others to do the same.

IWB: Tell us one of your most amusing behind-the-scenes kitchen stories.

NK: Too many to tell. There were a lot of fun times I had in my restaurant with my employees in preparing food, and experimenting with food, chatting it up with customers, seeing who would come in.

IWB: Where and what was your most memorable raw meal?

NK: When I first started eating raw food, I was introduced to it from an ex-boyfriend. That was my first raw foods meal at a raw foods restaurant and it was at Karyn’s Fresh Corner in Chicago. We had a chickpea salad with sprouts, some nori rolls stuffed with a almond pate I believe and then we finished it off with carrot cake. It was memorable because I remember feeling so nourished from the experience of eating live food and sharing it with someone who I really cared about. It was awesome.

IWB: If you could be or do anything else, what would you do or be?

NK: When I was in Australia in March of this year, I saw dolphins for the first time. I might want to be a dolphin but other than that I would like to get into this time travel thing.

IWB: What one word would you use to describe yourself?

NK: Sassy.

IWB: What’s the one thing about you few people know?

NK: That I’m a quantum physics, metaphysics, science freak. I love anything about the esoteric, the mythic, the ancient, the erotic, the 5th dimensional. I crave that stuff like I crave love and watermelon gazpacho soup on a hot summer day.

IWB: Is there a food you can’t bring yourself to like?

NK: Durian. Can’t find it in the ghetto.

IWB: What are some things you enjoy doing in your spare time?

NK: I watch a lot of films and I read a lot of books. I love hiking, sweating at the spa, and spending time with the ones I love the most.

IWB: As a previous restaurant owner, what was the most difficult situation you had to handle and what did you learn from the experience?

NK: Wow. There are too many to choose. Mostly the multi-tasking was just too difficult. And so what did I learn? That I was extremely creative and multi-talented.

IWB: Any plans on opening another raw restaurant?

NK: I’m doing consulting work with investors who want to open up a raw foods restaurant in downtown LA, but I don’t have any plans on opening up another restaurant anytime soon. I love the restaurant industry, but I love my freedom also.

IWB: What are some important things each of us can do to stay on the raw food tract?

NK: Surround yourself with people who adopt your diet and your lifestyle, and arm yourself with a lot of information, and learn how to eat intuitively instead of listening to everyone else tell you what to eat and how to eat, and don’t put so much pressure on yourself. Sometimes the raw foods community can be so extreme and its almost like we’ve become the raw foods police force. I think balance and moderation is the key to everything.

Giveaway

For the giveaway, Nwenna offers a copy of her book The Goddess of Raw Foods to one Raw Epicurean reader. To participate in the drawing, simply answer the question:

If we could have a peak into your kitchen pantry, what raw food staples would we find?

One entry per person, please.

The drawing for this giveaway will take place Monday, October 26th. I will use my favorite random number picker to choose the winning participants. The winning participants will be contacted via email and an announcement will be posted in the comment section of this post.

Thank you and best of luck!

More About Nwenna Kai

Visit her website nwennakai.com, her blog , and Nwenna Kai on My Space.

Shop on Amazon for her book The Goddess of Raw Foods.

Watch her on UTube Nwenna Kai on You Tube.

Stay connected with Nwenna via Facebook.

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Once upon a time when I was about 8 years old I remember I didn’t care for chocolate, especially chocolate chip cookies. Imagine the shock of my friend’s mother who pulled out a batch of piping hot chocolate chips cookies only for me to refuse them. I’m sure she thought I was a strange child.

I made up for lost chocolate chip cookie eating time later in my teens years. No one had to twist my arm to eat them or other chocolate goodies. And, after I indulged, I became a balanced chocolate lover: I didn’t overindulge [ok sometimes] and I didn’t deprived myself [certainly not].

The crisp fall weather and the anticipated fun and festivities of the approaching holiday season puts me in a state of cookie nostalgia. I want cookies! Lots of them. In the coming days, weeks, and months, the dehydrator will get serious use churning out batches yummy treats - like this one.

Cacao Nib Carob Cookies

This recipe calls for ground *aat groats: whole grain oat kernels with the hull removed. You can find organic oat groats at health food stores or online.

Combine the ingredients
Place all ingredients in a food processor. Process until mixture forms into a ball.

Shape the cookies
Take 1 tablespoon of dough and roll it between the palms of your hands to form into rounds. Lightly coat a cutting board with coconut flour and place rounds on cutting board. Use the bottom of a small glass to press each round into flat discs or use the palm of your hand to flatten dough. Use a spatula to gently lift dough from cutting board and transfer to a dehydrator tray.

Dehydrator the cookies
Place the tray of cookies in the dehydrator. Turn cookies midway through dehydrating. Dehydrate 4-5 hours for softer cookies; 6-7 hours for crispier cookies.

Yield 16 cookies

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Continuing on with this month chocolate theme, I was inspired to make a chocolate flavored pudding to add to the growing list of chocolate recipes. Combining chocolate with coffee to get that mocha flavor sound like a good idea, but I didn’t use just any type of coffee. Teeccino, an herbal caffeine-free coffee alternative made from organic ingredients - carob, barley, chicory, almonds, dates, figs, and natural coffee flavor, was a smart choice. I have tried other herbal coffee brands, and had only heard of Teeccino. I was inspired to give it a try after reading about it on Kristen of Kristen’s Raw blog. I give her full credit for nudging me into trying it. Teeccino isn’t a “raw” product and you’ll have to brew the coffee. Once brewed measure out 1 cup of coffee and allow it to cool to room temperature before combining it with the other ingredients.

This version of raw pudding doesn’t call for nut or seed milk, but you could try substituting 1 cup of either the herbal coffee or orange juice, or 1/2 cup of coffee and 1/2 cup of orange juice, with your choice of nut or seed milk. I haven’t tried this myself, but I can image it would taste good. As for the chocolate in this recipe, I prefer the chocolate taste to lean on the bitter side, so I like to use less sweetener. Add more or less sweetness to your liking.

Making this pudding is so easy. Once the liquid ingredients are mixed in, the chia seeds gel and thicken, becoming reminiscent of tapioca. Chia seeds are rich in fatty acids, high in minerals, fiber, antioxidants, and omega 3’s.

This pudding is great served as breakfast or dessert.

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and stir until smooth and free of any lumps. Enjoy!

3 cups

* Available at most Middle Eastern Markets, online, and at some Whole Foods Markets.

Note: Dayna’s Market and ethnicfoodsco.com, two suggested online sources for Orange Blossom Water.

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Coconut Almond, Vanilla Hazelnut, and Cashew Goji Berry are three of the yummy flavors I have tried from

and I have indulged in more than a few silky smooth heart-shaped chocolates sweetly wrapped by

both companies offer a wonderful line of chocolate flavors.

I can barely wait to try the chocolate products like truffles, brownies, and other yummy chocolate creations from one of these amazing companies:

I discovered two more raw chocolate makers with the help of

Kate Quinn, editor of Living Raw Magazine, she introduced me to

Christine, a Raw Epicurean reader, introduced me to

Thanks to Sue, we have another chocolate maker to add here. Sue discovered

on The Martha Blog [click to page 10 & 11 on Martha’s blog to see pictures].

Thanks ladies!

Click on any of the above banners to transport to their site.

* You can find cacao nibs, powder, and butter online at Mountain Rose Herbs and Natural Zing, or at Whole Foods Markets, Trader Joe’s, and health food and speciality shops.

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Photography by :: Ellen Atkins

Angela Stokes-Monarch is an incredible inspiration. She is one of the raw food world’s natural health heroes who helps guide and educate many toward healing, better health and well-being.

Many of you may already know her story, if not, you can watch her appearance on CNN News. She has traveled the road on a magical journey of transformation, from losing excess weight to gaining radiant health, and she continues on the path sharing her knowledge to help inspire others who seek the journey. Angela is an author, speaker, singer, and an all-around giving spirit of love and light.

In this interview, Angela shares with us which raw food has become a staple in her diet, her favorite kitchen tools, which natural health heroes and mentors have educated and inspired her, and more.

Enjoy the Interview…

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: When did you first discover the world of raw food?

Angela Stokes-Monarch: In May 2002 I was living in Iceland and a friend lent me the book ‘Raw Family’ by the Boutenkos. I weighed nearly 300lbs at the time. I read the whole book in one night, went raw the next day and released 160lbs over the next two years ;)

IWB: I would like to congratulate you and Matt Monarch on your union as husband and wife. How did you meet initially, and did your raw food lifestyle play a part in your meeting?

ASM: Thank You :) We actually met through the internet – lol… Back in November 2005 I had just written my first raw food book and was looking for people in the USA to help me sell it. Mr. Monarch was one of the US raw people I found on Google and contacted – I didn’t know who he was at the time. He went to my website, saw my before and after pics and well…it all unfolded from there…emails led to phone calls led to me visiting him in the US and 3.5 years later, here we are in newlywed bliss ;)

IWB: When did you decide to join forces and become a dynamic team who educates and inspires other to be healthy?

ASM: We started working together on things in early 2006 in terms of talks, book ideas and so on…I guess it wasn’t really until Mr. M proposed to me in August 2007 that things were really solidified into place between us though.

These days we have multiple shared projects going on – books, talk tours, online stores, a 30 day weight loss plan, a daily online raw food TV Show, a new monthly Raw Food World radio show and so on…we feel very blessed :)

IWB: Overall how has embracing a raw food lifestyle contributed to your health and well-being?

ASM: My life has COMPLETELY changed since going raw…to the point of being unrecognisable ;) Physically I released around 160lbs, my thyroid is now naturally balanced and I no longer get ill…and far beyond that, my life has changed in every other way imaginable – emotionally, socially, mentally, spiritually, romantically, financially, you–name–it–ly…my life has flip–flopped into a place of radiant vibrancy and I feel extremely grateful ;) I read my old diaries or look at pictures from my pre–raw days and find myself wondering ‘who WAS that person…?’

IWB: Between the two of you, who prepares raw food the most?

ASM: We usually split juicing/food–making pretty much down the middle… We often eat different things, so I make my food, he makes his, then we both help with cleaning things up in the kitchen. In terms of juicing, it often works out that one of us does the actual juicing and one does the clean–up – it all feels very balanced and yummy to me ;)

IWB: What is/are your favorite kitchen tool(s)?

ASM: The juicer and blender are key for me…plus nut milk bags for straining juice, making nut milks and sprouting. We don’t have a dehydrator as we live on the road and we’re not so much into dried foods. Actually at this point the only piece of equipment we own ourselves is a K–Tec blender, plus nut milk bags…we use other peoples’ juicers as we travel around, or make juice using the blender + nut milk bag combo ;)

IWB: Which raw food has become a staple in your diet?

ASM: Greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeens :) When I was growing up I felt like salads were ridiculous and pointless – I only wanted to eat a meal if it had meat in it. Now my feelings are basically reversed and leafy greens feel like the ’staple’ to me for feeling healthy, balanced, vibrant, mineralised and alkalised. We drink green juices daily, eat energy soups, salads, smoothies – anywhere we can get our greens in ;)

IWB: What fruits or vegetables are your favorites, least favorite, and why?

ASM: Favourite fruits and veggies: durian, eggfruit, papaya, cherries, blueberries, okra, romaine, sunflower greens, baby spinach, alfalfa sprouts. Least favourites: grapefruit (tastes outrageously disgusting to me) and potatoes, as they’re no use to me as a raw foodie ;)

IWB: What one word would you use to describe yourself?

ASM: Blessed.

IWB: Do you have a favorite raw food recipe you’d like to share with us?

ASM: ‘Chocolate Milk’ Juice: juice together romaine lettuce, spinach and carrots = tastes like chocolate milk – yummmmm ;) This is a GREAT starter juice for children/sceptical people and so on – maybe even sweeten it up a little with extra carrot or apple. LOVE it :) For one to two people maybe use 1 head romaine, 1 bunch spinach, 1lb carrots – enjoy :)

IWB: If you could be or do anything else, what would you be or do?

ASM: Other than being a griffin, I’d love to be a singer :) I used to do a lot of singing/song writing in my younger years and these days I make raw food versions of songs and put them up on YouTube ;) I have the intention to write a whole raw food musical – keep your eyes and ears open for that one…

IWB: Which food product[s] from your raw food product line is/are your personal favorite[s]?

ASM: Hmmmmmm, we have a HUGE online store at TheRawFoodWorld.com with literally hundreds of products, so it’s a little challenging to choose…I think I’d go for these though: chlorella tablets, chia seeds, dulse, bee pollen and the creamy almond butter ;)

IWB: Name some of the natural health heroes and mentors, who have educated and inspired you?

ASM: My partner Matt Monarch of course ;) I am also GREATLY inspired by the ‘Anastasia’/'Ringing Cedars of Russia’ books and the Dervaes family of PathwaytoFreedom.com. Kate Magic and Shazzie are my raw food diva heroines in the UK. Mike Adams of NaturalNews.com, the Giannis of RenegadeHealth, Brian Johnson of PhilosophersNotes.com, the BirthIntoBeing DVD and website, Jinjee of TheGardenDiet.com…MANY people inspire me ;)

IWB: Whether a person is 100% raw or not, is there any particular advice you’d like to share with us on maintaining a raw food diet?

ASM: ENJOY what you’re doing, take it slowly (start at least 50% raw and take it from there), get support from others on this path, drink at least one green drink a day, eat mostly FRESH water–rich raw foods, do colon hydrotherapy to help the detox, sweat every day, get your heart rate UP at least once a day, be honest and kind with yourself and others about your food choices and forage for any wild foods you can safely identify ;) ENJOY…

IWB: Any other words of advice or anything else you’d like to share?

ASM: Live, Love and Let Go…enjoy the journey ;)

Giveaway

For the giveaway, Angela offers a complete package of ALL her informative, educational, motivational, and inspiring e-books. You will receive these ebooks:

Answer this question and you will automatically be entered into the draw for these awesome ebooks.

Name some of the natural health heroes and mentors, who have educated and inspired you?

One entry per person, please.

The drawing for this giveaway will take place Tuesday, October 13th, and I will use my favorite random number picker to choose the winning participants. The winning participants will be contacted via email and an announcement will be posted in the comment section of this post.

Thank you and best of luck to all who participate.

More about Angela Stokes-Monarch

Visit her website Raw Reform and her blog Raw Reform E-Journal

Watch The Raw Food World TV Show and Angela’s appearance on CNN News

Shop The Raw Food World for raw books, foods items, appliances, and more.

Stay connected with Angela via RawReform on Twitter and Facebook

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