Hands up if you like cabbage....

Yes, my hand is up, but it wouldn't have been before last weekend.....let me explain...

Cabbage.....not my favourite vegetable by any means. I go through phases with it, but somehow it never manages to keep my attention for too long. It's too pungent in juices, too tough and fibrous in salad. Iused to love it as a child, boiled 'til it was soft and topped with a knob of melty butter.

*I think i've just rediscovered my love of cabbage*

Here's what happened:
i shredded 1/2 head of sweet, cripsy, Hispi Cabbage.
Then made a sauce with a few tablespoons seed butter/tahini, juice of a lime and/or lemon, water, lemongrass, garlic, ginger and chilli, salt and a little agave or honey (optional).
.....poured sauce on cabbage + squidged the cabbage and sauce together well.
Then i spread the mixture onto a dehydrator tray (with teflex sheet) and left it until cabbage was softened and flavours have intensified (4-6hrs) ......this created a beautiful smell that wafted through the house....

Served on a leaf,
with parsnip rice (grated parsnip-nothing added)
a wedge of lime
and dollop of creamy sauce bursting with Thai flavours (blended soaked sesame seeds, sundried tomato, sesame/ coconut oil, garlic, lemon, ginger, lemongrass, coriander)

it was cabbagey perfection!

[We also had a big bowl of greens and a cucumber salad made with peeled + diced cuke mixed with shredded thai basil leaves (not pictured) ]

Garnishes: Fresh coriander herb, slivers of almond, black sesame, red chilli, wedge of lime
p.s. the pic didn't turn out great....doesn't really do justice to how good this meal was!

Here's the cabbage before it went in the dehydrator:












Just in case you're interested ;)

x

natures WILD kitchen...

Today i am posting about local superfoods! They are real heroes in my eyes. Seasonal, fresh, alive + packed full of nutritional goodness and minerals.

I am talking about weeds of course!

*
It was a beautiful day today so we headed up to the allotments for some fresh air and sunshine.

I came back with a carrier bag full of goosegrass, cleavers, dandelion, a few nettle tops, and plantain.

There is something about foraging....it's a meditation. Attention is gently focused on the plants you are searching for, movements are slow, graceful, centred. And then CONNECTION! Sacred earth connection.

*

Wowsers, i made the most incredible pint of green juice today (all of the aforementioned weeds plus purple sage, tomatoes, celery and a little chilli+lime)......and as the emerald drops infused into my cells they awakened a crystalline memory......ah yes, WILD food (for wild energy!).....SEASONAL food (connects you with the elements and your immediate environment/ synchronises inner and outer space)......FREE (as nature intended)......it is the ultimate tonic!!

*

There was a time last year when most of my greens were coming from my foraging & gardening trips up on the hill. I hardly needed to buy greens at all, there was such an abundance available wild, or in exchange for volunteering (check out http://www.thefoodproject.org.uk/) and on top of that i grow sunflower + buckwheat greens at home.

*
But winter is not the easiest time to find wild food, and the sunflower greens i grow have been struggling.......so i've been depending on supermarket greens lately. Well, today felt like a gift. It seems that there are early signs of spring all around, and there was certainly no shortage of thriving edible weeds up at the allotments......and *SUNSHINE*! Thankyou thankyou :)

*

The trick is to keep your eyes open, be interested in any plants you see, look up anything unusual in books or online (i learnt a lot from Funky Rob: www.rawrob.com), do some searches on google. Even in the middle of cities there can be rich foraging available if you know where to look - cemeteries are generally left pretty wild in places (but be careful of roadsides and areas that may be polluted).

Good luck!

*

pics:

top left: abundant chickweed takes over a polytunnel

top right: cleavers, a great lymphatic tonic (also known as goosegrass/sticky willy)

Low Glycemic treats!

soak..............................sprout............................dehydrate

as easy as 1,2,3.......

*

Buckwheat is a thistle plant that produces fragrant flowers, followed by these little lovelies....buckwheat groats. They are high in protein, fibre, B vitamins, lots of potassium, some iron, calcium, manganese + phosphorus. Sprouting buckwheat increases it's protein, B vitamin and fibre content. Sprouts also contain the active enzymes which help digestion and assimilation.

This makes buckwheat a perfect food for breakfast or snacks!

*

One of our favourite ways of using buckwheat is to make buckwheaties:

1. Soak buckwheat in a bowl with plenty of water for 1-4 hrs. When soaked, they produce a thick, mucilaginous slime. This is normal!

2. Rinse the buckwheat groats throughly to wash off the slime. Leave to drain in a colander placed over a large bowl.

3. Rinse the sprouts thoroughly once or twice a day.

4. Sprouting time varies according to the ambient temperature. It takes on average 2-4 days for the tails to grow a few cm. Tails should not be too much longer than the groats, as the flavour begins to change.

5. Spread the buckwheat sprouts onto dehydrator trays . There is no need to use the teflex sheets, and sprouts can be piled in thick layers if necessary (up to 1-2cm)
6. Dehydrate at 115 Degrees C for 12-18hrs.

7. Store in an airtight container.

*

It's well worth making a big batch of these so you always have some to hand to use as breakfast cereal, making up a quick trail mix, or grinding up for use in raw cookies or pie bases.

*
One of my favourite low-glycemic breakfasts consists of the following:

Vanilla Hemp (or Almond) Milk (Blend 1.5C water with 0.5C soaked hemp seeds + 1 vanilla pod, and strain)

A couple of handfuls of buckwheaties

A couple of handfuls of goji berries and blueberries

A tablespoon of Lucuma and/or Mesquite powder

A sprinkling of Maca and a pinch of Suma

all swirled together in a bowl......

This is a tasty low-GI trail mix for nibbling through the day as i sit at the computer doing assignments....or blogging :)

~

Yacon Root

Soaked and dehydrated almonds

Goji Berries

Mulberries

Cacao Nibs

Buckwheaties (not pictured)
~

*

The following shops in Brighton stock superfoods:

Infinity Foods (North Road)-Gojis, Maca, Cacao, Pollen (dried)

Sunny Foods (Beaconsfield Parade)- Gojis, Maca, Cacao, Pollen (dried)

Organic Shamanic (the Open Market)-Cacao, Maca, Suma, Yacon, Gojis, Pollen etc.

The Guarana Bar (Sydney Street)- Cacao, Gojis, Maca, frozen pollen

*

The low GI approach (emphasis on greens, veggies, seeds, nuts), with some superfoods added, is highly mineralising, can enable deep healing to take place, as well as being suitable for those with blood sugar or candida issues. A low sugar diet needn't be boring! It can be fun, delicious & energising too! I promise ;)

*

enjoy :)

Inspiration

Where do you get your inspiration from? I have to say, a whole lot of my inspiration to be and stay RAW (Radiant and Whole) has come via the www.... thank goddess for modern technology! One day when we've all perfected telepathy, remembered who we are, and are living harmoniously with the earth and each other, we won't need to spend countless hours in cyberspace connecting with like minds and finding inspiration to create the life of our dreams. For now, I am honoured to be able to celebrate and give thanks for the inspiration, support + connections i have found here in cyberspace over the past year, by nominating 5 fellow bloggers for the 'Inspirational Blogger Award' (I was awarded an 'Inspirational Blogger Award' a while back (October, eeek) by the lovely Gela Stokes....thankyou honey-bee! :)

“For those bloggers who inspire others through their words and actions. With a positive attitude, and an uplifting spirit these bloggers make the blogosphere a better place, and encourage others to do the same. This award is for bloggers who rise up to set an example but continue to reach out and support others.”

Soooo...finally, i am passing the love on to 5 other Inspiring Bloggers...They are all unique and amazing in their own ways.....most of all....these blogs are full of LOVE & light + LiFe! There is nothing more inspiring than that!!

1. Keiko Cacao Ti~ Rawket Scientist Extraordinaire. Keiko Ti you are a wonderful example of Raw and Radiant living. Thank-you for generously sharing incredible images, uplifting & inspiring quotes, yummy recipes for a super-life...... all round high vibe food for thought! It's a blog that makes me think, and feel...and then some!

2. Queen B~ Rawmama. Queen B, you deserve this 100% Thankyou for sharing your raw journey with so much honesty and integrity. Your blog is so real, it radiates love & warmth & compassion, i love stopping by and basking in it's warm and cosy glow x

3. Neeta~ Integral Dynamic Healing. Neeta is juice feasting and sharing the inevitable ups and downs, growth, and learning on her healing journey in a deeply juicy and intelligent way!! I only 'met' Neeta in the blogosphere recently, but wow, what can i say? I am blown away by the depth and quality of writing in this blog.

4. Shawna~ Shawna in the Raw. Shawna tells it as it is! Shawna's Raw energy and enthusiasm for Life! is so infectious it practically jumps off the screen!

5. Terilynn~ Inspiration: Life . I literally just found this blog....I'm hooked already, it's a fun, real, honest, well written, entertaining account of one busy mama's juice feasting life. + The Daily Raw Cafe....with recipes and yummy raw food galore.

There are just so many fab and inspiring people to meet out there in cyberspace.....do i have to stop here?? There are plenty more links to inspiring blogs in the sidebar....and these newly found (by me) links to bloggers transforming their lives and themselves thru juice feasting are inspiring beyond belief:

Courtney, Santi, Melissa, Doug, Loriel, Carrie, Kelly, Jack+Jill, Neens, Kalequeen, Ben

Phew, that's it for now!

Love+Thanks!
xx

(Lakshmi pic from Rawmama: Live and Uncooked)

Sunday....running, rainbows & Frederick mouse

This will be my last post on this blog in this format. This blog will become The Raw Kitchen (or The Healthy Raw Kitchen) for food/recipe related entries, and i have started another blog elsewhere for all other aspects of my raw (personal) life (http://www.shellsrawblog.blogspot.com/)

At this moment, i am at peace with my food.....low glycemic Phase 1.5......so i am having small amounts of goji berries, mesquite, blueberries, buckwheat cereal, sprouted quinoa.

Phase I is HARDCORE!! Too extreme for me right now. But this I can do quite happily. Breakfast today was hemp milk + buckwheat cereal with a little lucuma, maca, a handful of blueberries and a handful of goji berries.

Followed by...... a run in Preston Park. It was sooo good to get my heart pumping and circulation flowing! Yay for big green parks and shiny new running shoes! SO, having worked up a big appetite, it was time to whizz up a big plate of colours, textures & all round yumminess. It may not be sunny or bright out, but making sure to eat a good variety of colours is a great way to get all the colours of the rainbow into our beings at this time of the year! :)

Colours are nutrients too! I think all the colours but blue & orange are represented on this plate (but i did have some blueberries for breakfast ;)

white: marinated shaved fennel/ pine nuts

red: cherry tomatoes

yellow: yellow courgette noodles

green: marinated broccoli & fennel/ herby spinach pesto sauce

purple: radish sprouts

It's true that hunger is the best spice, but even so, YUM!

Recipe for:

Spinach + Herb Pesto Sauce:

1C pine nuts (soaked)

2.5C greens (I used 1C spinach, 1C parsley and 1/2C coriander)

1/3C olive oil

juice of 1 lemon

small pinch salt

This post reminds me of one of my favourite stories. It's a children's book called Frederick (by Leo Lionni) about a mouse (called Frederick). When winter is coming, all the mice begin to gather corn and nuts and wheat and straw.....all except Frederick. The other mice wonder why Frederick does not work like they do.

Fredericks answer: 'I do work, i gather sun rays for the cold dark winter days. I am gathering words for the winter days are long and many, and we'll run out of things to say.'

Winter comes and the mice are happy in the beginning, there is plenty to eat, and they entertain themselves with stories of follish foxes and silly cats. But eventually they run out of food, it is cold, and noone feels like chatting.

But then they remember what Frederick had said about words and sunrays.

'What about your supplies, Frederick?' they ask.....

'Close your eyes'

'now i send you the rays of the sun.....do you feel their golden glow?'

as Frederick speaks of the sun the little mice begin to feel warmer......was it Fredericks voice, was it magic?

.and then he tells them of the blue periwinkles, and the red poppies in the yellow wheat, and the green leaves of the berry bush...and they all saw the colours as clearly as if they had been painted in their minds.

And then....the words.....Fredericks poem....

such a sweet story...

such a wise little mouse!

Wishing you love + Rainbows to light up grey winter days

shell x

Saturday....eating out a la Phase I

Thankyou Suki....for the reassurance that the urge to hibernate and the need for plenty of sleep is totally normal for this time of the year.
It's a reminder to myself too, that there is not always a driect cause and effect relationship between what i eat and the way i feel.
So i've been thinking......... When i first went raw, i had a small baby keeping me busy, and had lost touch with my other practices like yoga and meditation. Transitioning to Raw & Living foods became my spiritual practice. I didn't have much time or space in my life to be consistently getting on the yoga mat, but eating is something we do every day. It's an area that is easy to work with, without too much extra effort. Eating live food is instant connection with the divine.....And the results are amazing....
But it's not always about food......
What i needed on Friday was a good nights sleep, so i slept 12 hours and the next day the world seemed like a different place.
Jem + i went to see Bee-Movie in town, followed by a late lunch at Terre a Terre with his daddy...who will soon be jetting off to India for a couple of months to teach yoga at a retreat centre in Goa.
We do love Terre a Terre....it's a bit pricey but since we hardly ever eat out it was nice to treat ourselves. The staff are friendly, we are always well looked after, and i think they are used to people asking for Raw meals (i kept hearing snippets of conversation about juice fasting + superfoods from a couple at a neighbouring table!). In fact, if you book in advance they will prepare a special raw menu for you.

Busy little fingers were kept occupied with Wikki Stiks....simply ingenious!

I asked for a big raw salad (no cheese, no tofu, no roasted seeds)....but i forgot to ask for no fruit or mushrooms....so i had to pick them (apples and mushies) out....

It was HUGE....but not particularly exciting. Not many greens (and they were overseasoned), not many exciting flavours (which is a shame because that is what makes terre a terre so special usually). Just a huge pile of julienned veggies and beansprouts. I wouldn't pay £12 again for that.

It's about time for a good Living Foods Restaurant in Brighton i think!!!

turning point?

i'm feeling pretty lousy on no fruit! I think i look terrible, dark circles under my eyes, no energy. I've had a couple of late nights which i haven't recovered well from (i am not normally affected this much).
Even though i've been getting plenty of greens in, and juicy non-sweet fruit like cucumbers, i crave the refreshing juiciness of an orange.
(i just ate an orange.....)
This is not meant to be a way to torture myself......so if it doesn't start feeling ok in a couple of days then i'll go to phase 1.5 at 2 weeks (monday.....)
Have a lovely weekend :)
x

untitled

wading through sticky darkness
it's muddy
i can't see
anything
at all
it's cold
dark
.....it's all fading out.....

you held out your hand
you knew i could do it alone
but you wanted to help me
find my way back home

i took your hand
i could hardly bear to look at your light
it was so bright

you guided me gently
stayed close to my side

i love you, i said
i love you more than i love me

impossible, you said
for i am you
and you are me

i am your light
i will always be here
i am your best friend,
your guardian angel
some might say i am your higher self

next time the darkness looms
don't be afraid to call on me
for i love you no matter what
you are never alone

come on,
it's time to go home

wobbles

Today i wobbled.
This morning, i wanted to eat a juicy clementine. And then fought with myself a little about not listening to my body and being rigid and controlling......
This evening, i made some frozen banana/blueberry/raspberry ice-cream for Jem, and it looked DELICIOUS!
Those little moments really had me wondering WHY i am doing this! I am beginning to feel nostalgic about fruit, and it hasn't even been a week....
ha! and yesterday i wasn't bothered at all......how quickly things can change!
i am all about listening to my body usually, but this experiment is about seeing what longer-term shift at a biochemical level might take place.......
i am trying to find savoury treats that are totally satisfying....and doing well....but still.....
Is this what Gabriel is talking about when he says in RGLFC 'another cause of food cravings is the fact that fungus loves sugar and will subtly push you to eat sweets to survive?'
??????????

6 days in, checking in....

6 days into this green adventure and I've had one-sided head cold symptoms for a couple of days. Just one streaming eye and congested pressure points on the right side of my head/face.
Just a bit of housecleaning, methinks! I always feel fantabulous after one of these 'clearing' episodes. It's a shame so many people reach for medication to suppress symptoms as soon as they feel them coming on, they are missing out on the chance to allow their body.mind.soul to cleanse, clear and lighten up!

I have been eating/ drinking:
Hemp milk chai elixir
Sesame & sunflower seed hummus spread on various veggies (peppers/hispi cabbage/cucumber wedges)
Big salads full of peppers, tomatoes, cukes, courgettes, parsley, spinach, lettuce, avocado etc.
Spinach & tomato quiche (my current favourite 'treat' food!- that quiche crust recipe i posted earlier is to LIVE for....i have made it 3 times since!)
At least a pint of green juice a day (sometimes just plain celery or cucumber with ginger & lemon, sometimes the full works....)
warm water with fresh lemon, ginger & cayenne
urine
Cacao nibs with coconut chips (Ok so coconut chips are not Phase I....but i like them :)

I'm definitely getting through more veggies than usual....and needing to stock up more often than usual....
I want to start eating more seaweed- for the iodine & minerals (i do sprinkle seagreens on my salads when i remember).
I am very surprised to find that i am not missing fruit at all.

So that's me, green & happy 6 days in.

x

what does it take?

I just wanted to post these pics of some animal friends i spent time with over the holidays....
Aren't they gorgeous?
....when i was a child i preferred the company of animals to humans much of the time....my love of animals was responsible for my decision to become vegetarian, but more than that, it actually took seeing + experiencing (close up and in real time) that cow fluttering beautiful eyelashes in the sunshine one minute, and dead & lifeless the next (at my grandfathers farm in Kenya).... before i made the connections that actually changed my consciousness around food choices.

And did you know, 100g spinach +50g parsley juice yields more Iron than 300g beef and more Calcium than 300g milk!
Juicing builds blood & feed tissues. Green juice in particular builds blood, carries oxygen to the tissues and irrigates the system removing stagnation. What's more, veg juice establishes an alkaline environment where nutrients can actually be used by the body.

What does it take for a person to get the message?
A mixture of experience, understanding, and information methinks.
There is a part of us that can feel experientially and/or intuitively whether something is good for us (or not).....but sometimes until we also understand this intellectually it is not enough to cause significant change/ evolution. And sometimes it's the other way around. We can know the science and theory but not have a fully embodied understanding.....

This year feels like the year when more people will start making the connections between the quality of their lives, their health, and the way they choose to nourish themselves (on all levels).
It's happening, for sure.
Last night there was a program on prime time TV all about raw food (Health food Junkies featuring Suki Zoe & other rawfooders). That felt pretty significant.

We are what we eat....we are what we eat.....we are what we eat.....
the choice is ours
Living Foods
or Dead Foods?

A juicy life?

Hmm
All this talk has put me in the mood for.......juicing up some greeeeens,
Cheers!
to your radiant health :)

more bits about me + my raw journey

I recently joined the online community at Give It To Me Raw. It's a very bouncy, fun, supportive place to connect with yummy raw friends all over the planet! :)

I just filled in the 'about me' section on there and thought i'd post it here too.....since i don't think i've ever really given away too much information about myself here:

I was born and brought up in Kenya. There was always ripe, tropical fruit in the fruit bowl and salad with every meal.......but also the usual meat.dairy.wheat. etc. I became vegetarian at 16 and have always loved to cook . Healthy cooking was my thing. I remember making icecream out of frozen bananas and tahini, and crazy green sauces out of blended seeds and herbs long before i had even heard of raw food.

My first inkling to be '100% raw' happened during the Summer of 1999. I met and spent time with friends of David Wolfe in Glastonbury, and got my hands on a copy of 'The Sunfood Diet'. I think that initial phase lasted almost a year, but i didn't have any good information or support available (i was travelling a lot). Then about 3.5 years ago i found a copy of Gabriel Cousens' 'Conscious Eating' at a car boot fair for £3. I was reinspired, and took it as a sign from the universe to start back on my Raw journey! Although i didn't know anyone else who was raw, i decided to go for it. Shazzie's journals were very inspiring back then, as were some online forums i joined, it was just the support i needed to stay on track.

Now i live in Brighton with my 5yr son surrounded by a blossoming, supportive community of Raw friends. We meet for Raw Pot Lucks once a month (let me know if you want to be on the list for mail outs) and are planning to organise a Raw Festival somewhere beautiful this Summer.

On this journey, I feel like i am discovering more of who i really am. Eating raw is not simply about changing diet and having more energy. What we then DO with that energy is so important! This Raw Energy can be channelled in so many positive ways, and directed towards deeply healing the parts of us that have become fragmented or disconnected from the bigger picture (including all sorts of stuff inherited from our ancestors). The journey to wholeness takes a lot of courage, it's not always easy.......i am not 100% raw 100% of the time.......but percentages don't really mean that much. What is more important is to be as close to 100% healthy as possible. So eating 'less than optimal' food with a glad heart and happy mind counts as healthy to me! :) Yeah, i really believe that the WAY we eat is just as (if not more) important than WHAT we eat. (+ so many other nutrients like fresh air, sunshine, touch etc. ....make up the WHOLE spectrum for achieving vibrant well being)

Oh, & i just love that mother nature provides us with food that is so beautiful, delicious, + amazingly perfect in every way. I am so grateful! I love to play with food, & create art with it. It's all the same to me - life.food.nature.art

My dream is to live in harmony with nature in a loving community......growing food, supporting each other, learning together, healing & evolving........I am a student of Natural Nutrition.....my body.mind.soul is a test-tube. .....I am constantly experimenting, keeping an open mind, listening & learning. There really are no absolutes, it's just a flowing dance, a dynamic interplaying of ever shifting elements. The more i let go of my analytical mind, the happier i am (except when exams and assignments loom! haha). I plan to write or co-write some educational booklets about juicing & cleansing. And maybe an arty book full of beautiful photography and mouth-juicy recipes. I'm full of ideas.....now coming into a time where i'm asking the universe for assistance in manifesting my bright ideas in this physical reality! And also realising how ideas are not MINE.....we are all plugged into the collective mind and so much of what floats through my mind is part of something much larger than myself.Isn't life crazy!......(in the nicest possible way :)

Astrological info:
Star sign: Gemini
Chinese sign: Earth Horse
Mayan Glyph: Red Crystal Earth

Why Phase I, Why Now?

hmmm, a few people have been asking me why i am doing this. And I'm glad that they ask! :)

The idea with the Phase I diet is that it is a very low glycemic diet with a high level of anti-mycosis effect. Gabriel Cousens refers to it as 'turning off the composting switch' (he goes into quite a lot of detail and background science in Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine). Anyone can benefit from this, whether they have a chronic degenerative disease or not. Gabriel's observation is that 'people who follow this diet have the highest energy, clarity of mind, endorphins and neurotransmitter production, and optimal joy for life.' I've spoken with a few people who have been on Phase I, and so far, the verdict is that it's great short term, but difficult to sustain (due to weight loss & energy loss).

I have been asked if i think there is anything wrong with fruit (for me).
I don't think so. I love fruit! Fruit is delicious and beautiful and perfect! But most of the fruit available in supermarkets is hybridised and out of season, especially at this time of the year. Also, fruit and fat is not a good combination.....and i do need fats in winter......so it's gotta be one or the other if the bugs are going to be given their marching orders!!
I like to eat seasonally as much of the time as i can, so now is a good time for me to experiment with this way of eating, as there is not much good local fruit around. (but oh boy was it ever hard to walk past the persimmons the other day!)

My observation over the last couple of days is that i am much less likely to overeat if i am not eating sweet fruit/sweets. So i could be onto something here, in terms of getting my overeating tendencies under control, and bringing to light the underlying emotional issues connected to the overeating.
Also, i saw my acupuncturist a couple of days ago. She asked me to please start taking Floradix as i have deficient blood (which also explains some recent depression i've been breathing through- the blood 'houses the spirit').....so I need to start 'building up.' Since fruit is primarily cooling and cleansing, putting more emphasis on dark leafy greens and veggies will help with that. I am going to take her advice and start with the Floradix. No, it's not Phase I compatible but it's only a capful a day......and i don't want to be too rigid.....

4 days in and i'm feeling a bit sneezy and snuffly. I am in good spirits though, and feeling more motivated and energised than i have done for a while. My digestion has also improved.
I've been drinking lots of hemp milk chai elixir with cinammon and some maca. I'd forgotten how complete hemp milk makes me feel. I really feel much less hungry in general......which could also just be attributed to where i am in my cycle i suppose....
It's a bit like this.....when i am passing through the kitchen, it's really easy to grab a piece of fruit and eat it. But now that i'm choosing to have non-sweet fruit instead (cukes, peppers, courgettes) i don't just snack like that in the same way. I recognise that i am not actually hungry!

So far so good!

Be well :)
Breathe Deep
& Smile!
x

New Moon Resolution

Hello world :)

I am not one for making New Year resolutions....i mean, i have goals and affirmations that i try to work on whenever i can, every day is a New Day, a fresh start, right?

However, i do feel that there is some special energy around this time of the year that is particularly conducive for pulling one's socks up & getting one's act together.

So i want to jump in and make the most of this wave of energy.

It's New Moon in Capricorn tomorrow. According to my We'moon 2008 diary, moon in Capricorn "whets our ambition and tests our sense of humor. It loans us extra ability to organize, build, manifest ideals, manage our world; but we have to let others manage themselves. It's time for clear short term goals, to feel the joy of accomplishment. Tend to foundations, ancient history, roots of trees"

I really want to try a Phase 1 diet for 3 months. Beginning with the New Moon.

There, i said it. I've wanted to try this for the last three years, but never managed to go longer than a couple of days. It's far more challenging to me to live without fruit than it is to fast on juices. But winter seems like a good time to let go of my attachment to fruit for a while. And i need a challenge. It keeps me on my toes. & now that i've posted it here....i have extra accountability!

If Shawna can do it, so can i!! :)

I will come back and post more details about phase 1 soon.

Love to ya!

Pesto Pie & Elixir Chai

It's 2008!

For the first post of the year i'd like to wish you all the happiness, abundance, sweetness, light, joy, friendships, love, growth, learning, excitement, adventure....etc. ;) that your heart desires!

My last dinner of 2007 was a cherry tomato and pesto pie (with a big fresh zesty green salad):

The crust was inpired by Elaina Love's quiche crust recipe:
2 C peeled & diced courgette

1 C soaked almonds

1/3C olive oil

1/2t salt

1.5-2C flax meal

generous grating of nutmeg

This was dehydrated for about 8hrs, but could possibly have done with a bit longer.

then there was a tomato sauce layer (sundried tomatoes, basil, tomatoes, olive oil), & a creamy

pesto layer (pine nuts, lemon juice, white miso, basil, black pepper)

'Twas very yummy, and i have another crust in the dehydrator as i type! I am thinking creamy spinach and olive filling this time......

I am developing a deep love and reverence for Chai Elixir tea! (thanks to Suki for passing on the recipe ;).

What do i put in mine?

A big handful of Pau D'Arco

a smaller handful of Cat's Claw

the contents of 2 wild Rooibos tea bags

a Cinammon stick

a small handful of cardamon pods

a sprinkling of cloves and black pepper

slices of fresh ginger

pieces of ashwagadha root, dandelion root & licorice root

de-seeded vanilla pod

water

This is slowly brought to a simmer and heated gently for at least 10 minutes. When the batch runs low i just top up with more water (the same ingredients with some minimal topping up can last for days).

Then i make some hemp &/or almond milk and blend up with grated nutmeg, ground ginger, vanilla seeds, maca & carob powder (sometimes) & the warm strained tea. (or make the milk using warm tea instead of water). For sweetness, add some honey, or goji berry soak water. Oh, and cayenne, of course!

Check out this video on youtube for more information (Daniel Vitalis Super Tonic Elixir Secrets Part 1).

The dandelion root was harvested by my very own hands in September up at the allotments.

The roots were dug up, washed, cut into pieces and dehydrated gently until dry. Dandelion root is a bitter tonic herb which has a strong action on the liver.

Blissings to you! x