Are You Ready to Fall Into Raw?

This Saturday, October 2nd, I'll be kicking off Raw Food Rehab's final 11 Week Total Health & Wellness Initiative for 2010! You can read the guidelines of what our Initiatives objectives are by clicking here. Hundreds of members of Raw Food Rehab will be participating in our 11 Week Initiative - Falling Into Raw and there will be much support happening all over the website and I encourage you to come join us!

This Initiative will run from Saturday, October 2nd through Friday, December 17th.

If you would like additional support, education, recipes, shopping list and journal pages, I want to encourage you to order the Falling Into Raw digital material. For the last month I've been putting a great deal of effort into putting this information together, as I trust that this collection will be a source of tangible support for you during the coming 11 week as we move into the holiday season.

In this set you will receive 3 digital books:
Falling Into Raw - Finding Simplicity & Balance in the Season (the main book)

Falling Into Raw - In The Kitchen (a collection of nearly 80 seasonally inspired raw food recipes)

and Falling Into Raw - The Photos (over 40 beautiful digtial photographs of many of the finished recipes)

Additionally, there are 2 other documents:
The Falling Into Raw Market & Pantry List (a shopping guide) & 11 Week Initiative Journal Pages

For only $33 dollars you will receive all of this material in your email Inbox. It can be ordered via Paypal by clicking here.

I also, hope you'll let me know if you are planning on joining us on this healthy journey!

If you would like to actively participating in the Initiative, I want to make a few suggestions:

Take a Before Photo of Yourself - If you have weight to lose, taking a full length before photo will be both a reality check and a way for you to track your progress visually.

Take Your Beginning Measurements - As we have learned with members in the Vault, when you change your diet to one that is full of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, you often begin to see very real improvements in your body measurements. The SAD diet is very acidic and causes inflammation and water retention, so even if you don't lose a tremendous amount of weight, you may lose your bloated condition!

Plan to Hold Yourself Accountable Weekly - For some of you, this may mean that you weigh yourself once each week to see how you are doing. If you don't weigh yourself, make a note of how your clothes are fitting throughout the 11 Weeks. Journaling is another way to track your progress, and keeping a food journal is a proven tool for success for many people who have struggled with mindless eating in the past.

Stay Plugged Into Support - We have found that when members allow themselves to become isolated and "out-of-the-loop" it is much easier to slip back into old unhealthy lifestyle practices and ways of eating. NEVER allow guilt, shame or feelings of defeat to keep you away from RFR. We understand that these changes do not happen over night for most people and that we are ALL a work in progress.

Come sign in at Raw Food Rehab and let me know HERE if you're planning to participate in our Falling Into Raw Initiative! I'd also love to know some of your thoughts, goals or plans for your upcoming 11 Weeks. I hope to hear from!

Raw Mom - Cooked Dad....Can You Relate?

You Cry When He Fries...

He Shouts When You Sprout...

Sign Up Today for 10 Days of Support, Inspiration, Recipes and Advice from 40 of the Word’s Leading Experts on Raw Food, Nutrition and
Healthy Living!

Your Family Will Never Feud About Food Again!

This event kicks off on October 10, 2010
(10-10-10!)

Dear Inspired Mamas,

Have you ever noticed that most of the so-called “Raw food gurus” out there are either single, have no children or live on a tropical island?

Okay, I get how you can succeed on the raw food diet if you live under a banana tree and have no children begging you to eat all the foods their friends eat!

What about the rest of us
living in the trenches of the “real world?”

What about family dinners with the grandparents...?

What about school lunches and kids who feel their food is “weird?”

What about how difficult it seems to find raw food recipes our kids actually LIKE?

How are we supposed to live this healthy lifestyle without feeling like a FREAK or slaving over the dehydrator at 3:00 in the morning?!

To help answer a few of these questions and bring forth the tools, the support, the inspiration that will help us all lead healthy lives in the face of a deep-fried world, please click here to find out about all the very special guests we’ve invited to this event and to learn the key topics we’ll be featuring.

International Day of Juice Feasting - THIS SUNDAY!

This Sunday, September 12th from Noon to 4 pm PST, a spectacular event will be taking place all over the world. This will be the second annual event to honor of the tremendous work that Dr. Gabriel Cousens and the staff of the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Patagonia, Arizona have contributed to the world in the research and development of healing through the practice of juice feasting.

This event was created and spearheaded by Dave the Raw Food Trucker last year and hundreds of people joined together for this first annual Day of International Juice Feasting in Seattle, Washington. It was a standing room only affair and you can check the video coverage of that out here. I had a number of my Raw Food Rehab Seattle Posse in attendance and I suspect we'll have even more peeps representing in the house for this year's celebration.

This year's event has expanded and it will include special guest speakers who are considered experts in the protocol of juice feasting: Matt Monarch, Angela Stokes-Monarch and Elaina Love are just a few of the featured speakers. Both Dave & Tresa will be there to introduce other amazing speakers whose stories of healing and rejuvenation are sure to inspire and delight you. If you are in the Seattle area, please check out the details, as this year's event will be held at the Laughing Ladies Cafe in Shoreline, Washington. You can get more information on this by visiting the main website that was created specifically for this event.

If you are not in the Seattle area, no problem! Just like last year, this event will be streaming live on UStream.tv Be sure to get signed up there so you can join in with people from all across the globe for this epic event. Click here to get plugged in. This is an awesome feature for those of us who want to support Dave and this event but aren't able to travel to be there in person.

You may want to take it a step further and host your own house party or get together with friends and celebrate health on this particular day. The idea is to drink low glycemic juices or smoothies for as long as you feel you need to. You may want to commit to joining with many of us for this one day of juice feasting or you may want to plan for a longer period of time, either leading up to this date or starting on the 12th. Juice feasting gives your body a chance to rest, heal, recuperate, and get back on track. You can learn more about juice feasting by checking out the information that's up at RFR's Liquid Lounge.

Hope to "see" you this Sunday!

Sunday Evening Candlelight Vigil For Dave

Hello Everyone!

I had the opportunity to speak with both Dave and Tresa at length last night on the phone. I want to share that Dave is absolutely blown away by your comments on yesterday's video. The well wishes, prayers and heart-felt love you all are sharing is just what the doctor ordered! He wanted me to be sure to tell you how much all of this means to him and that he will be following everyone's comments here as we move forward.

The best news that has happened today is that Dave has been officially released from the hospital (after 10 days) and now he can begin the next leg of his deep healing journey!

After last night's call, I came away with a couple of thoughts that I want to share with you. I asked what the most pressing needs were at this time and how we as a community can best support his continued healing, and here is what I came up with:

The first thing is that I feel it would be very beneficial to hold a 24 hour corporate prayer/candlelight vigil in honor of Dave. Dave was extremely touched by this idea and would be so honored by our support to him in this way. The plan is that each one of us who feel lead to do so will pause at dusk this coming Sunday evening (September 5th) and pray and/or send our well wises and healing energy to Dave. I also would ask for each one of you to light a candle, for Dave at that time. I show you the candle I will be burning through the night in the above video.

During this time of prayer and sending up of our intentions, we want to ask for our Creator's perfect will to be done in Dave's life. I personally will be praying for a 100% physical recovery. I propose that we also ask for all of Dave's financial needs to be met over the days and months to come. These really are are the 2 most urgent concerns as I see it.

I hope you will take this idea and run with it. Please promote this time of prayerful support on your blogs, on Facebook, on Twitter or on YouTube. Let's come together as a unified community on Dave's behalf.

Also, if you have an thoughts or creative ideas on how we can fund-raise for Dave at this time, please share your ideas in the comment below. I have a couple of good ones that I have rolling around in my head, but I KNOW as a team we can really hit this ball out of the park.

One small thing I am starting with is that I am donating 100% of the proceeds of any sale of my book Real Juice Daily to Dave's Recovery Fund throughout this Labor Day weekend (now throughout Monday night).

So that's all for today's update. If you have any questions or additional thoughts, we would LOVE to hear from you in the comments. Much love to you all!

Dave the Raw Food Trucker

The following is a public statement regarding the condition of Dave the Raw Food Trucker, written last night by his dear friend, Tresa:

"Hello Everyone,

Today I have some difficult, personal news to share with you. Dave is in the hospital. He has had a stroke, and possibly a heart attack. The encouraging news is that he's progressing well. None-the-less, we'd appreciate any prayers, healing energy and positive thoughts you can send his way at this time.

I suspect that you're probably just as shocked about this event as Dave and I were... So, I really want to explain "why" this occurred. Sadly, we've already encountered wild speculation from people, so, I want to clarify that, contrary to erroneous assumptions, this situation was not caused by the Raw Food Diet nor Juice Feasting; That's simply NOT the case.

I also want you to know that Dave is strong in his resolve to heal fully! And he remains true to his belief in Live Foods. In fact, he politely refused to eat hospital food; I watched as he calmly stated to doctors & staff that he would gladly fast on water before touching ANY food from the hospital that wasn't "live, organic and vegan." He has repeatedly affirmed that he will NOT be changing his raw food diet, nor his juicing habits. The doctors have thus agreed to allow him to have raw foods & juice at the hospital. Luckily we located a natural & raw food retailer near by called "Natures Food Market & Juice Bar." They've been such a BLESSING! I've been picking up fresh juice & food there each day for Dave.

Here's the truth of the matter: Dave has had a heart condition called Atrial Fibrillation for MANY YEARS, which made him a high-risk candidate for stroke! (This has been his situation since before he became Raw, Organic and Vegan!) In fact, the one final prescription medication he's mentioned still taking, was for that very condition.

Also remember, Dave was morbidly obese for over 23 years, which placed a huge strain on his heart. Medical practitioners have told us that it can take 7 years or more to heal the circulatory system, and reverse the plaque build-up in his arteries. To add insult to injury, several situations occurred recently (not related to his diet) which, Dave believes may have also increased his risk.

And, as if all of this wasn't difficult enough, Dave has now discovered that, due to Department of Transportation Regulations, he will NOT be able to return to work for the next 6 months! Additionally, he'll be undergoing physical therapy & rehabilitation. This is a hugely unexpected change of plans, which has Dave feeling some concern.

Many people have already graciously asked if and how they can assist financially. This has prompted me to reach out, on behalf of Dave, to any of you who wish to compassionately contribute to his recovery. This is the first time in Dave's life where he finds himself "in need" of financial help from others, rather than in the position to "help others"... and it's an uncomfortable new position for him, to say the least.

If you feel compelled to help Dave during this financially difficult period, please go to the link below and give your gracious gift. You need not be a Paypal subscriber to use this service, it will work with any credit card. This service will be active for at least the next six months so that you can make one-time, weekly or monthly contributions... and the funds are made available to Dave immediately.

Click on, or copy and paste, this payment link into your browser to make an online gift contribution: http://ning.it/a2wqbE

Or, if you prefer to send a check or money order, make it payable to: Dave Conrardy. Please clearly note "Gift for Dave's Stroke Recovery" on the check, and send it to:

Dave Conrardy/The Raw Food Trucker
P.O. Box 544
Auburn Washington 98071

On a happier note, Dave should be out of the hospital soon, we will host the 2nd Annual International Day of Juice Feasting on September 12th in Seattle as planned! He looks forward to seeing you there LIVE or via the web- cast if you're not local! (info is available at: (www.DayOfJuiceFeasting.com)

I'll keep you up-to-date on Dave's progress, and we'll also be posting a video with details about this entire experience soon. Please keep Dave in your thoughts & prayers. Your generosity of spirit is so greatly appreciated.

Until we speak again, wishing you wellness and blessings,

Tresa (aka: Beauty, Elegance & Grace)

(on behalf of Dave The Raw Food Trucker) "

To watch/listen to Dave's incredible story of transformation, click here. To sign up for Dave's newsletter, go here. Any messages that you would like to be shared with Dave, please feel free to leave in the comments below. I will make sure Dave will receive each well wish and note of love & concern.