Jan. 2007

Beautiful Waterfall at Sugar Loaf   Fern Star   Wispy Moss at Crane Creek   Platter of interesting fruit: passion fruit, tamarillo, monstera deliciousa, mandarin kuats, bacon avocado, over ripe white sapote.   Secret to deseeding a pomegranate: do it in a bowl of warm water.

Happy New Year (Better Late than Never:)

Happy New Year! I'm a little late this month with updating my journal. The New year started off great. I spent it with some friends of mine in their cohousing community that always seems to have a big celebration for every holiday. It was very Sonoma county: there was a bonfire and we threw sunflower seeds inside the fire to represent releasing the negativity of last year. Then we walked a homemade labyrinth and lit a candle in the center of it. My friend made a labyrinth in her back yard using big rocks that she got on ebay! Isn't that great! I love it. The next day we went hiking and it was wonderful and sunny which went along perfectly with my one and only New Year's resolution which is to be out in nature and to hike more. It was a lovely way to start off the New Year.

I have so much to be grateful for this year.

I'm moving into my own place shortly and very excited about it. My family took me to IKEA which is such a fun shopping experience and I was able to get most of what I need for my new place. I'm only missing a few small items. It was such a coincidence but my neighbors ended up giving me a gift certificate to Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I didn't even tell them I was moving, it was like they read my mind! Not to mention that my friend had about 5 or 6 coupons to Bed Bath and Beyond that she gave to me! It was a great example of the Law of Attraction at work. Speaking of the law of attraction I've discovered that Abraham-Hicks are putting portions of their workshops on http://www.hayhouseradio.com every week on their radio show called Ask and it Is Given. I've mentioned Hay House Radio before and I've found that they have many wonderful programs and speakers. Actually I'm listening to it right now:)

Interesting Fruits

The platter on the left is a picture of some fruit that I had laying around the house that I thought some people might find interesting. The passion fruit, tamarillo, and monstera deliciousa were all home grown in Northern California. The Tamarillo is the red fruit that actually looks like a red Christmas light. It tastes somewhere inbetween a guava and a regular tomato. It is very interesting tasting; I like to put it in guacamole. The Monstera is the long green fruit that has these small segments than when ripe will seperate easily. The segments taste like a really sweet pineapple but not as acid. The orange things are actually different varieties of kumquats. Those happen to be mandarin kuats and you can actually eat the skin just like a kumquat. They were grown in the central valley. The Bacon avocado is from Southern California. It's a really sweet  and soft, very different from a Haas. The yellow green fruit is an overripe white sapote also from Southern California. The sapote is a white creamy fruit with a mild sweet flavor. I prefer the black and chico sapotes to the white sapotes but they're still a unique taste experience for someone who has never tried them. I remember when I first got into raw foods I thought it was so neat what raw foodists had in their kitchens so I thought I'd share. So many amazing varieties of fruits!

Speaking of fruits I wrote about pomegranates last time and I forgot to show you a little trick to deseed them. Score the pomegranate as if you were cutting a orange. Then open the pomegranate in a bowl of warm water so that the juice doesn't squirt out. Deseed the pomegranate in a bowl of warm water then pour the water through a strainer to catch all the pomegranate seeds!

A New Year A New You

Yep, January is the time for starting a new diet or exercise regime or whatever you resolution might be. I have found that many people have asked me about how to get started on the raw food diet this month. Much more than usual. As an answer to their questions I have made a free e-book on how to get started with raw foods, this e-book will be available shortly on my website for free for anyone who joins or who is on my mailing list.  In the meantime a great resource for rawfoodists is the http://www.rawfoodsupport.com. It is a raw food message board where you can talk to others on the raw food diet and ask as many questions as you like.

Also, I'm really happy to offer a new product here at Raw Glow: Laminated Two Page Charts on the Raw Foods Lifestyle, Detoxification, Food Combining, and Wheatgrass, Green Drinks, and Sprouts. As far as I know I am the only one who sells them in the online in the U.S. I 'm really excited about about these charts because they are authorized by the Hippocrates Health Institute and they have so much good information on them in an accessible form.

I hope your new year is starting out wonderfully! I wish you all the best.

C

Fun Fact

My friend just recently traveled to Cypress and he discovered that camels love carob pods and that it's their main form of nourishment! Who knew!!??

Free Raw Magazine?

I just got notice of the introduction of a new Raw and Living Foods Publication called "Purely Delicious" This will be a mini-magazine that will be distributed free nationwide to raw-food and vegan restaurants! Also home delivered subscriptions will be available at $20.00 per year. Please check out http://www.purelydelicious.net  Am very excited about this prospect!

Watch These Videos!

I've come across this wonderful video, it will only take a minute but it is very uplifting. My friend had the good idea of watching it every morning:

http://thesecret.tv/secret-to-you/

There is also one about creating abundance in your life.

http://thesecret.tv/secret-to-riches/

Good stuff! I could use a little uplifting lately, it seems as if I caught a cold. Been resting and drinking a lot of liquids such as green juice. I make this juice with fennel, chard, and celery it's really good. Speaking of food I haven't shared a recipe lately in my journal and the pate I made last night was pretty good. Sorry to say I didn't write down the exact measurements but I can give you the main idea of what I remember.

Garden Italian Pate

1 cup almonds (soaked in water)
1/2 cup walnuts (not soaked)
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
4 celery ribs chopped
1 large handful sun dried tomatoes (if they are tough soak them in water first)
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2  teaspoons dried Italian herbs
1 large handful seaweed ( I used Kaipen seaweed  but you could use Dulse seaweed)
1/4 cup water

Blend all ingredients together in the food processor with the S-blade on until smooth. Adjust seasoning to taste. This is just one variation of all the different types of pates you can make using different nuts, seeds, vegetables, and seasonings. I ate it on top of lettuce leaves topped with chopped tomatoes and sun dried olives. Not bad for just throwing things together. I only ate a portion of it, there is still some left in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!,

C

The Universe Delivers

Today was awesome because I manifested some things that I had been wanting for some time. Lately I've been asking the universe for things and then just forgetting about it. I  have two small but really great examples that manifested today.  I have been wanting a soap dish for some time but haven't found the right one. Today I was in the dollar store and I was drawn to look at these candle holders that were made out of stone. One was shaped like a soap dish and made out of beautiful sandstone and then it occurred to me that I could use it as a soap dish and it only cost a dollar! Then I was at the paint store and I noticed some box cutters that I had been looking for a long time. The cashier decided just to give me one! I've never had a cashier just give something to me without paying! I thanked him and chalked it up to the law of attraction!

I've also been wishing for more positive people in my life to hang out with. Well last night I went to a David Deida's Woman's Circle and met some wonderful women. They must've  manifested me also because three of them were interested in raw food. The women's circle was so amazing because it was women supporting each other and honoring each other. The coolest part was when we partnered up and the other woman danced her interpretation of what our spirit was feeling. My partner danced exactly what I was feeling which at the moment was love, sensuality, gratitude, and excitement. The end of the circle we acknowledged our self for something and then we acknowledged the person to the left for the gift that they brought to the circle. I was surprised when the woman to right of me acknowledged me for having so much inner beauty that shown through all of me and she said that I glowed:) Wow, it was such wonderful permission to just be a woman!

Then today we had our 2nd year anniversary open house celebration for our beautiful healing clinic. It was a potluck so I brought a raw pie that I made with dried apricots, honey, raspberries, and a flax carob crust. To my amazement everyone loved the pie. There was not even a slice left!! I mean I knew raw people liked my pies but only one person at the party was raw so I was really impressed that everyone ate so much of it!

Flax Cracker Fix

Lately I've gotten hooked on these wonderful flax crackers that are made locally in Santa Rosa by a company called Samson's Flax Crackers. I normally don't buy much packaged raw food, mainly because the price, but these crackers were so good I indulged myself. I eat them as a snack with some avocado and tomato on top. Well today I made up my mind that I was going to make some so as we speak I have some golden flax soaking in water and tomorrow I'll spread them on dehydrator sheets. I'll let you know how they turn out, can't wait.

Daily Quotes

I've signed up to get daily quotes from http://www.abraham-hicks.com/ I really enjoy them. Below is a quote I was sent this week that I wanted to share.

"All is well, and you will never get it done. Life is supposed to be fun. No one is taking score of any kind, and if you will stop taking score so much, you will feel a whole lot better -- and as you feel a whole lot better, more of the things that you want right now will flow to you. You will never be in a place where all of the things that you are wanting will be satisfied right now, or then you could be complete -- and you never can be. This incomplete place that you stand is the best place that you could be. You are right on track, right on schedule. Everything is unfolding perfectly. All is really well. Have fun. Have fun. Have fun!" - Abraham-Hicks

Anyways, life is good and I'm sleepy. Till next time,

C

Last Night as I Was Sleeping

I discovered this poem today, the original is in Spanish so I altered the English translation a bit but I think it's still beautiful and the meaning doesn't get lost in translation.

Last night as I was sleeping, I dreamt that a spring was breaking out in my heart. I said: Along which secret aqueduct, Oh water, are you coming to me, water of a new life that I have never drunk? Last night as I was sleeping, I dreamt that I had a beehive here inside my heart. And the golden bees were making white combs and sweet honey from my old failures. Last night as I was sleeping, I dreamt that a fiery sun was giving light inside my heart. It was fiery because I felt warmth as from a hearth, and sun because it gave light and brought tears to my eyes. Last night as I slept, I dreamt that it was God I had here inside my heart. Antonio Machado

Anoche cuando dormía soñé ¡bendita ilusión! que una fontana fluía dentro de mi corazón. Dí: ¿por qué acequia escondida, agua, vienes hasta mí, manantial de nueva vida en donde nunca bebí? Anoche cuando dormía soñé ¡bendita ilusión! que una colmena tenía dentro de mi corazón; y las doradas abejas iban fabricando en él, con las amarguras viejas, blanca cera y dulce miel. Anoche cuando dormía soñé ¡bendita ilusión! que un ardiente sol lucía dentro de mi corazón. Era ardiente porque daba calores de rojo hogar, y era sol porque alumbraba y porque hacía llorar. Anoche cuando dormía soñé ¡bendita ilusión! que era Dios lo que tenía dentro de mi corazón. Antonio Machado