The best gift ever!!!! on the road less travelled & Happy Valentines Day!

As a mother of 3, I sing my song and dance my dance, in hopes that my journey may inspire and have an effect on my children and the choices they will make in their lives.  But truth is we just don't know.  We, or should I say, I don't know what really trickles down.  I know some things do. I know it in how I  see them making their choices, and the questions they ask me, particularly with foods, health, honouring your truth, and walking lightly on this planet yet leaving an imprint of your soul along the way.  But with the world moving ever so fast, with the constant pull between community and friends, and home lifestyles, or just simple being 10, 8, and 4 and almost 40. There is a difference in how we see the world.  There is a difference in how we engage with the world.  Yet there can also be a lot of similarities, a lot of support and companionship along the road less travelled.


A few days ago I received the best gift ever!, I was joyfully asked for a favourite green juice! my specialty of course!

I must admit, I felt such honour, warmth in my heart and  joy when my middle son Theo, after finishing his homework, asked me: mom! can you make me my favourite juice? to what I replied, which one? my favourite GREEN juice, of course!  well well…. yaaaaaaa

Of course I can! and then more voices echoed in the back .. me toooo!….. me toooo!

I am often making them, often offering them…. sometimes my fresh juices are greeted with joy, sometimes with ahhh!, sometimes with not now.. sometimes with no way!… so it was such a gift to receive the asking of what I think is one of the most important tools for health and longevity in today's world….. green juice!

Sometimes the road less travelled is a lonely road, an awkward road, a different road.. but as the world becomes one, as we open our doors of perception, and the doors to our hearts, we see there are many walking beside us, quietly gathered, moving towards an awakening in consciousness.

Our generation is opening the door to higher levels of health and awareness of spirit.. frankly we got tired of feeling sick and reached out for other possibilities where life is radiant, where life bursts our hearts open into the magnitude and alchemy of this universe.  It is our job, more so our duty, to raise our kids with the empowered awareness that health is our innate state of being, that what we put in equals the state of our health - physical, mental, emotional and spiritual, that we are here to grow, to nourish, to be of service, to be in alignment with our own dharma, and our own purpose.  It is our duty to kindle the light within and allow them to shine bright.

So as I give back gift to such honours… and because today is Valentines Day, along with a mighty green homemade juice… we are feeling the love of raw cacao in our hearts…. there are many good, and great ways to celebrate love, raw cacao chocolate is one of my favourites.

Raw Cacao comes from the Theobroma Cacao tree…. (something my Theo can't get over!)… It is referred to as 'food of the Gods'.  It is magic and alchemy.  It is a powerful way to get goodness into us.    It is healing medicine and can be used as a tool to get herbs, medicinal mushrooms, roots, & super foods into the best tasting way one can only offer the Gods that live within us!  So lets roll the drum and scroll down the benefits of this mighty nut:

• It is high in antioxidants, helping us deal with free-radicals and stress.
• It is high in magnesium, which supports the heart, increases brainpower, relaxes menstrual cramping and muscles, increases flexibility, helps build strong bones, and increases alkalinity. note- our bodies need magnesium in order to absorb calcium.
• Contains high levels of Iron, Chromium, Manganese, Zinc, copper, Vitamin C
• Raw Cacao contains essential Omega 6- Fatty Acids. (note- in cooked & processed Cacao these become rancid)
• And on and on…

So here is a easy basic recipe for Raw Cacao Theobroma Magic, I am giving you a basic recipe, where your inspiration can take into great goodness heights….

1 cup of Raw Cacao Butter,  cut into small chunks.
1 cup of Raw Cacao powder
1 tsp of Maca powder
2-4 TBPS of raw honey, maple syrup, or Xylotol
pinch of salt (what? - yes, salt makes sweet food taste sweeter.)


In a pot, on LOW heat, melt the Cacao Butter.  Once melted, take off the stove.  Add raw cacao powder, macs, sweetener of choice, salt.  Mix it up.

Have your chocolate moulds ready, pour chocolate into moulds, freeze for 30 min. and enjoy!

This chocolate is best kept in the freezer until serving, it literally melts in your mouth with goodness!

You can add any superfood to this recipe, substitute maca for spiruina, chlorella, etc.  Add bee pollen, add goji berries… your imagination is the limit.

Enjoy & Happy Valentines…
May you lead your life always in joy & love.

Naty
___

"Where there is love there is life."- Mahatma Gandhi

Farewell Agave.. Farewell.. Hello Queen Bee..

Farewell Agave.. Farewell.. Hello Queen Bee

I know you are sweet and presented as nice

I know you are sold as healthy but are far from it

I know you ain't raw allthough you try

I know you mess around with my blood sugar and perhaps yours

I know you are used and misused world widely across the RAW world

I know it's just time to move on...

Man oh man, why does it have to be used EVERYWHERE!!!!! ahhh!

Agave is one of the best Advertising triumphs ever pulled on us, the public. You may not be as reactive to it as I am, but in the long run, it will catch up with you. So buyer beware.

Here is an article by Jonny Bowden, PHD, C.N.S that fully explains what Agave is and its dangers...

Debunking the Blue Agave Myth

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-jonny-bowden/debunking-the-blue-agave_b_450144.html

Oh my sweet innocent Blue Agave, sure you are sweet, but not so innocent after all. 

So what are the options out there, if you choose to be RAW but don't want to use Agave. 

First, well there is RAW Honey (preferable organic & wild). Raw Honey is jammed packed with live enzymes. It is a top superfood and is a great source for concentrated nutrition. It is rich in minerals, antioxidants, probiotics, enzymes and is one of the highest vibration foods!! It has antibacterial properties and some wild honey's have been shown to be anti fungal, anti viral properties as well. Check around your area, you might be surprised to find a lovely organic & wild Bee keeper near you. 

Second, there are Dates (Medjool Dates are a great option. Note- most pitted dates (and ready to use in baking dates) are heated to be pitted, so they are not technically Raw, nor would they give you the goodness and nourishment they can give.)

Third, there are Raw Sugar Cane Crystals. They are sun dried sugar cane crystals and do not undergo the same degree of processing that refined sugar does. They retain most of the nutrients found in raw organic sugar cane. Note- I have not used them very much, so I am not to recommend them as much as Raw Honey and Dates, but I think they are worth experimenting with.

So go on, get the sweet thing going.. have fun in the kitchen, share the sweets with those you love!

And to get you inspired and ready for February.. (yes, its coming, all too soon to a life near you!) here is a lovely recipe that just doesn't last at my house...

Chocolate Superpower Sweet Lovers Halvah 

1 cup raw sesame seeds, hulled

1 TBSP raw cacao powder

1 TBSP Spirulina, Chlorella, or Sea Vegetable Blend (I use Schinoussa Sea Vegetables)

dash of cinnamon

pinch of salt

1/4 cup raw, organic & wild honey

2 TBSP raw tahini 

1 teaspoon Vanilla extract or powder (I like to use powder and stay away from the glycerine and alcohol content of the extract)

Extra raw cacao powder or raw sesame seeds for dipping.

Put the sesame seeds in a food processor and blend until you have made a medium - coarse meal. Transfer the seed meal to a large bowl. Add the powder ingredients (raw cacao powder, Sea Vegs., Vanilla, cinnamon, salt) and whisk together. Then add the remaining ingredients and knead teh 'dough' using your hands. Break off bits of dough and from into balls about 1 inch in diameter. Dip balls into extra sesame seeds. Store the Chocolate Superpower Halvah in the fridge in a tightly sealed container to allow ingredients and tastes to blend.

Getting creative with sweet loves: you can literally add ANYTHING to this recipe and make a great tasting dessert with it! ANYTHING in my world are things like Hemps Seeds, Goji Berries, Inca Berries, Bee Pollen, Coconut flakes, and so on... 1TBSP at a time.

__

Quote of the Day

"In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dewof little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed." - Kahlil Gibran 

_

Book I recommend

"Eat Raw, Eat Well." by Doug McNish