Deliciously Hydrated

I was hoping to bring you a video today, but I finally gave up after the 10th thwarted take. My goal for today was to express to you the importance and benefits of staying hydrated.....and I'm not just talking about drinking water. During our last 11 Week Initiative at Raw Food Rehab, we talked about all of the elements of hydration, so I would like to share those links with you, in case you missed them:

Get Hydrated!

Hydrating with Herbal Teas

Rawk Star Hydration (Foodie Friday)

In addition to drinking plenty of good quality water, staying hydrated with freshly pressed organic fruit and vegetable juices, herbal teas, and the water of young thai coconuts are just as beneficial to your health. Whenever I talk about hydration, I have to include chia seeds into the the discussion because they are so amazing. If you haven't read about the impressive nutritional profiles of Thai coconuts or chia seeds, here are two very informative articles for you to absorb:

Chia Seeds - Miracle Food of the Aztecs

Young Thai Coconuts

I wanted to share with you a few of my favorite recipes for hydration.....I hope you'll try these and enjoy!

Chia Chai Smoothie (Revealing Your Inner Rawk Star - pg 11)

1 tablespoon chia seeds

1 chai tea bag, steeped in 1 cup water (cooled)

1/2 + cup sweet vanilla almond milk

1 frozen banana

pinch of cinnamon

pinch of ground ginger

1/2 cup crushed ice

Make the chai tea and allow it to come to room temperature. ut the chia seeds int the tea, allowing them to soak up the tea....usually 15 - 20 minutes....forming a chia chai gel. Easily done at night, this gel will keep well in the refrigerator until your ready to use it. Add the chia chai gel, almond milk, banana, spices and crushed ice to a blender and process until you have a frothy, creamy shake.

Goji Gingerade (Falling Into Raw - page 9)

1/3 cup organic goji berries

32 oz. pure water

1/4 cup raw honey, agave nectar or other sweetener of your choice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 lemons, juiced

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

Soak the goji berries in the water for at least 2 hours or overnight. Strain the water into a blender and add the other ingredients, blending only until well combined. You can keep the soaked goji berries in a covered container in your refrigerator to use in smoothies or another recipe. Use them within 24 hours.

Chia Coconut Custard Shake (Raw Food Cleanse - page 56)

1 thai coconut, meat & water

1 tablespoon chia seeds

1/2 cup crushed ice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons raw honey or agave nectar

a generous pinch each of cinnamon & freshly grated nutmeg

Put all ingredients into a high speed blender and combine until smooth and creamy.

Chia Breakfast Pudding (Revealing Your Inner Rawk Star - page 13)

1/4 chia seeds

3/4 cup sweet vanilla almond or hemp milk

scant pinch of sea salt

raw honey, agave nectar and/or fresh berries can be added if desired

In a bowl, combine the chia seeds, almond milk and sea slat. This mixture needs to be stirred every 5 to 10 minutes. Within 20 minutes you will have a breakfast pudding that wil remoind you of tapioca, as the chia seeds plump and fill with milk. This breakfast will totally encourage your inner rawk star to shine throughout the day!

Holy Eureka - I FOUND IT!

After 2 years of asking around and researching, I finally found a natural source for spring water in my area! My friend, JS Ohlander of FindaSpring.com, gave me a heads up that he'd heard about a spring in Broken Arrow, OK, which is just over 30 minutes from my house. So, today I loaded up my water jugs and took a little road trip east to see what I could find. Here's a clip:

The health benefits of spring water have been widely known for centuries. People who understand these benefits or who have experienced health improvements first hand will travel miles to obtain pure, fresh spring water. Natural spring water rises to the land surface naturally. Some health experts feel that this means it is ready to be consumed as opposed to artesian water that is brought to the surface prematurely. Spring water contains antioxidants and is a natural anti-inflammatory agent. Spring water is alive and when it comes straight from the ground it has nourishing qualities that are not present in purified water. One thing to be cautious of when drinking spring water is that it could contain contaminants and therefore should be tested before consumption.

Many of you may have heard holistic health educators extolling the virtues of drinking natural spring water. David Wolfe and a number of other raw food enthusiasts drink spring water exclusively. Here is a clip from Daniel Vitalis, the creator of Find A Spring.com, telling you a bit more about the site and how you can help by being a spring water detective in your neck of the woods:

I've talked so much about the importance of true hydration at Raw Food Rehab. It is one of the most foundational and necessary elements when you are working on obtaining optimal health or when focusing on achieving your weight loss goals. If you'd like to learn more about the benefits of hydration and to find out how much you should be consuming in water each day, click here.

I am curious to know what your experiences are with finding natural spring water near where you live. Do you know of any sources in your area? Have you checked to see if they are listed on the FindaSpring site? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below!

Raw Talk Tuesday - Cher Till's Life Transformation

Click here to listen to the wav file of today's show (much better sound quality)

Click here for the MP3 file.

Welcome to my very first episode of Raw Talk Tuesday! You are in for big shot of inspiration today as you listen to the 35 minute interview with Dr. Cheryl Till. Many of you may already know of Cher from her Blog Talk Radio Show - Healthy Shots with Cher. Here is a bit of background info on today's special guest:

Dr. Cheryl Till has a very diverse background. She has a Doctorate in the Philosophy of Theology, is an ordained minister, a chef, speaker, trainer, author, coach, and Dr. but, she just likes to be called Cher.

She spent 27 years in the restaurant business, having run multimillion dollar restaurants with over 100 employees in them. Along her journey she sustained an accident at work, which took out both her knees. While recovering, Cher realized working all those long hours in the restaurant business she had lost touch with the core of who she was and why she was put here on this planet.

Three years have gone by since her accident, she has two new knees and a lot of reinventing has taken place. Today Cher teaches people how to accomplish their goals, eat healthier and live a long life. Achieving incredible results from a raw and vegan lifestyle, she has made it her mission to share her love of food with others. Her first e-book, RAWQ YOUR HEALTH with 10 and 10, is only the beginning of her new trademark, and will launch a series of recipe books that are easy, quick and healthy.

Please check out Cher's website here. And then scope out Cher's radio show: HEALTHY SHOTS WITH COACH CHER, which airs on Thursdays from 5-6PM Pacific time on Blog Talk Radio. On her weekly show, Cher interviews guests who are experts in the raw vegan lifestyle, meditation and green living. Her effervescent personality and love of life is contagious everywhere she goes.

The following is an awesome clip that Cher put together to showcase the amazing, mouth watering recipes she shares in her new eBook:

On today's call, Cher is offering a very special exclusive offer to the RFR community (which includes Real Food Tulsa readers). If you order her ebook before this coming Saturday, October 23 by midnight PST, you will get an additional ebook shipped out to your Inbox on November 1st! 30 additional recipes that only require 10 ingredients or less and can be made in 10 minutes! Click here to place your order!

LifeCoach Cher also offers one-on-one and/or group consultations. You can learn all about this by clicking here.

I hope you enjoyed today's very first Raw Talk Tuesday and we'll see you again for another show next Tuesday. Our special guest will be Joan Monarch, mother of Mr. Matt Monarch of the Raw Food World TV Show! You won't want to miss it!

Happy One Year Anniversary, Raw Food Rehab

This weekend I am celebrating my first full year as the Program Director at the Raw Food Rehab Mansion! We kicked off our first public 11 Week Total Health & Wellness Initiative on October 16th of 2009. When we opened our doors, we had 65 original RFR members who worked with me on research for my book, Raw Food Cleanse. Now, a year later, we have reach a guest list of nearly 6,500! I'd say that's cause for CELEBRATION!

If you haven't checked in at Raw Food Rehab yet, we always leave the light on and have someone at the front desk who will see you to your room! Hope to bump into in the halls soon!

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!