Wednesday, January 30, 2008

It's not just about the food!

Anthony Robbins in his Personal Power seminar explains human behaviour as being driven by two major factors - the urge to avoid pain and the urge to find pleasure. Or even more simplistically, you could say we want to feel good and not feel bad. So how is this connected to food you may ask?

If you have attended one of our classes you may have heard me tell the story of how I became raw. Many people come to a raw food lifestyle from desperation; niggling or serious health concerns which won't go away or which become even worse with traditional western medical approaches.

For me it was different. I was experiencing no symptoms of ill health (this doesn't mean I was healthy by a long shot) and I was lucky enough to meet a charismatic mentor who had healed himself from a life threatening illness using food as his medicine. But what really got me was the claim he made that 75% -95% of all mental and emotional disturbances we experience are due to our chemistry being out of whack from poor diet! I didn't really believe him at the time though he certainly had my attention.

I had spent the previous 20 years exploring meditation and a myriad of therapies in search of consciousness, inner peace, happiness and self knowledge. While I had my fair share of happy moments along the way, I had overlooked one very important fact! Everything I experience, I experience though my senses and body. If my body is struggling to handle the toxic overload of processed foods and other toxins my experience of life will be dampened or dulled (at the mild end of the scale) or totally incapacitated (at the severe end) What I discovered after several months on living foods is that my experience of reality changed dramatically. My senses came alive, I felt happier, more alert, more energetic with a sense of well-being which had mostly eluded me on a processed food diet. I also needed 2 hours less sleep per night and intuition and synchronicity became an everyday part of life. I wouldn't have believed the dramatic changes if I hadn't experienced it for myself.

The unusual thing is I lost pretty much everything at the time I went raw - an 8 year marriage, a business, a home and yet I was enjoying life like never before. That's not to say I didn't experience emotional pain, marriage break ups are not fun, however, I was able to surf the storm and keep my head above water in a way I wouldn't have thought possible before.

What I have learned is that keeping this amazing body healthy is a key to my happiness and sense of on-going well-being. Trying feel good, I mean really good, on a processed, chemical laden diet is like trying to climb Mount Everest with a 50kg sack of rocks on your back! It may be possible for the occasional, rare person though most of us are going to fail.

The problem is nearly all of us have been bought up on a diet of less than wholesome food and we don't even know what it is like to be vibrantly healthy. We also often do work which we are not passionate about to pay the bills, give up on our dreams and settle for a life of mediocrity. I DID IT!! But you know what? Since embarking on this raw food adventure I feel so much more and I can't just numb my self out with TV, junk food, alcohol and other distractions that keep me from feeling BAD. Instead I live with the women of my dreams in an idyllic part of the planet doing work I am incredibly fulfilled with!

I can't say that living foods will work for everyone this way. Your journey is uniquely yours, however, it is very common for those who persistently eat living, organic foods (and who avoid toxic foods i.e. refined sugars, grains, dairy, oils) to experience positive changes in many areas of their lives, beyond the physical.

One thing is for sure: all the money in the world is worthless if you don't have the health and sense of well-being to enjoy it.

May you be inspired to live the very best life possible for you!

Love, peace and deliciously good health

Anand

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Hippocrates, Elaine Hollingsworth and Green drinks

Today I went to pick up a dear friend from Hippocrates Health Centre Of Australia in Mudgeeraba, Gold Coast hinterland. I took the back road from Murwillumbah which is a stunning drive. This photo is taken from the "Best Of All Lookout" near Springbrook which offers breathtaking views of the Wollumbin (Mt Warning) volcanic caldera and beyond. The walk to the lookout was through a mystical forest of ancient Antarctic Beech trees said to be 2000+ years old!

This is such magical part of the world and it was the land itself which
drew me here 22 years ago.

At Hippocrates I had the total pleasure of meeting the delightful Elaine Hollingsworth, author, health crusader, co-founder of Hippocrates Australia, former Hollywood movie star and a very passionate and inspirational woman. Elaine told me she has been taking great care of herself since the age of 19 by avoiding many of the pitfalls of a modern diet and lifestyle and it really shows!!! This photo of Elaine was taken in 2004 at the age of 76! Now at the age of 79 (or there abouts) Elaine is 100% committed to revealing the truth about health and exposing the corruption and lies which are being spread by big business (in particular pharmaceutical companies) I am half way through reading her book “Take Control of Your Health and Escape the Sickness Industry” which is bordering on revolutionary in what it reveals about health, disease and the "sickness industry"I highly recommend you get your hands on a copy. You can buy it from her wonderfully informative website http://doctorsaredangerous.com/ We also will be carrying her book in the very near future.

Green Juice verses Green Smoothie
When I first began a raw lifestyle 5 years ago nearly every day I would have a green juice made from plenty of dark leafy green veges, celery, cucumber and a little carrot or apple. Over the past year or so I have favoured the green smoothie which is much quicker to make. Both the green smoothie and green juice are awesome drinks and both offer similar and different benefits. The green smoothie as well as delivering much needed chlorophyll, minerals and nutrients also
includes the plant fibre which is so great for pulling toxins from the bowel. While the green juice a massive dose of pure nutrition which goes straight to your cells with minimal digestion needed.

For a change I had one litre of green juice today and I remembered why I used to have them
everyday. Within seconds of drinking it my cells are dancing, tingling in gratitude and I am infused with a calm yet vibrant energy which lasts for hours. This is amazing stuff! To make my green juice I use an Oscar Vitalmax which is an augur juicer that slowly "chews" the vegetables while maintaining there nutritional value (unlike centrifugal juicers which spin at high speed causing the veges to oxidise and over heat.)

I find green juice is the most wonderful elixir to have after indulging in food which did not totally agree with me, like too much raw chocolate (which we have been experimenting with a lot of late!!!)

I find the green juice incredibly cleansing and healing while the
green smoothie is more sustaining and building. Experiment, they are both divine.

If you are interested in learning how easy it is to make raw macadamia nut or Brazil nut butter click HERE to watch my first ever demo video on you tube.

Love peace blessings and deliciously good health!

Anand

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Melbourne Rawks!

Runi and I have just arrived back from a fun trip to Melbourne. I am so grateful for all the support we received for the "Art of Raw" Melbourne class last Sunday!!!
So much work goes into preparing for the classes and with over 40 beautiful beings in the class we couldn't do it alone. When we are in Melbourne we stay with John and Anne (my parents) who give us so much support: They let us take over their kitchen and use their cars for 5 days plus much more!! Also, I would like to thank Myree for her focussed and loving help on the day and my sister Catherine for giving us a helping hand as well.

Last but not least I would like to thank all of you who attended the class!!! You were all incredibly gracious in hot and testing conditions.

A snap shot of our travel routine
When we travel our daily routine changes: while in Melbourne Runi and I wake up and go jogging around beautiful Wattle Park. Wattle Park is an oasis in the suburbs of Melbourne full of native trees and abundant bird life. The air is laden with the scent of Eucalyptus and it is so delicious to deeply inhale while jogging. When I was a child I used to love visiting this park, climbing all over the old Trams which are parked there and feeling like it was so big it must go on forever.

After jogging for half an hour we meditate for 20 minutes and then have breakfast - for me a mango, paw paw (papaya) and rainbow chard smoothie (2 mangoes, 1 small papaya and 3/4 of a bunch of chard blended with a glass of water) for Runi 1/2 a rock melon and 2 bananas and a handful of lychees. Runi and I often have different breakfasts though we usually share a luscious salad for lunch - including a generous amount of leafy greens, cos lettuce, rocket, baby spinach, parsley with chopped carrot, cucumber, avocado, tomato. We usually make a dressing, one of our favourites of late is the juice of a lemon with 2-3 tablespoons of tahini and a dash of wheat free tamari. I usually like to add some seaweed into the mix. Either nori, dulse or kelp (sometimes all three!) As we were preparing for a class we were also testing the meals we were preparing -in particular -raw pizza, pumpkin soup, chocolate bananas. I find we only really eat rich gourmet raw food around the time of the classes, which is fun once in a while. For dinner I would usually go for fruit such as 2 mangos and 2 nectarines as fruit digests easily before I go to bed. Runi often prefers to have a salad for dinner. However, one evening before the class I was experimenting with chocolate banana icecreams on a stick and I couldn't go to sleep until 3am due to the buzz it gave me!!! Hmmm someone has to do it.

Here is a photo of the some raw cacao butter being melted in warm water. It melts at 40C. We then dip half a frozen banana on a stick into the choc sauce (made from raw cacao powder, raw cacao butter and agave nectar) and here is a some what sexy and suggestive photo of beautiful Runi about to sample the first one. Raw food is so much fun!!! Love peace blessings xxx

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Anyone for Pizza? - Runi

Raw pizza is one of my favourite raw recipes. On Anand’s and my first date Anand made me raw pizza. It was my introduction to gourmet raw foods and looked and smelt delicious. I couldn’t believe that it was possible to produce pizza out of only raw ingredients. However, he offered me only one piece of pizza together with a salad. I was quite alarmed. His explanation, that on a raw food diet the quantity of food one eats is so much less than on a cooked food diet, did little to calm me. At the time I would eat 3-4 pieces of cooked pizza in a meal (well to be honest sometimes I’d eat 5 pieces). As it was our first date I was concerned that while he would be quite satisfied with one slice of pizza I certainly would not. I eyed off another two pieces whilst wondering how to avoid appearing a glutton.

I nibbled my way through the pizza hoping to prolong having to asking for more. To my surprise one piece satisfied me. As the base of the pizza was made with brazil nuts and buckwheat it didn’t trigger the usual cravings that I would experience when eating pizza. I felt a wonderful lightness that I had never associated with eating before. I was so used to feeling a dead weight in my stomach after eating. I thought that being weighed down was the price to pay if I wanted my hunger to be satisfied. This was the start to my journey with raw food and the beginning of the end of my struggle with food.

I’d like to share with you our favourite recipe for pizza bases and some photos of them being made. I find them very enjoyable and easy to make. The Excalibur Dehydrator is ideal for the task as the bases fit easily onto the trays.

1 cup buckwheat groats (soaked for 6 hours).

1 cup Brazil nuts

3 tablespoons ground flaxseeds

1 tablespoon fresh basil

1 tablespoon fresh parsley

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon tamari

1 pinch Celtic sea salt

Place all ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth. Spread the mixture out to 1 cm thickness on a non-stick dehydrator sheet. Cut out a pizza base using a pizza tray as a guide. Dehydrate at 45°C for 6 hours. Remove the non-stick sheet and leave the pizza base on a dehydrator mesh tray. Continue to dehydrate for a further 6-9 hours. You can store the pizza bases in the freezer and use them when needed.

So there you have a gluten-free, wheat-free and sugar free alternative to pizza. We will be demonstrating how to make pizzas along with 7 other amazingly delicious raw recipes in our next The Art of Organic Gourmet Raw Food Preparation class in Melbourne on Sunday 20 Jan.

Love Runi



The Power of Association and attracting what you really want in life.

Hi Anand here,

Runi and I have just landed in Melbourne to begin preparing for this Sunday's class in "The Art Of Organic Gourmet Raw food preparation" Sharing these classes is such a buzz for me and doesn't feel like "work" at all. I can't think of anything else I would rather be doing, however, this wasn't the case......................

Two years ago I was working in the admin department of a local Steiner School with lovely people in a beautiful environment and yet for the last 6 months working there I really had to drag myself to work each day, I simply wasn't enthusiastic about what I was doing anymore and I would go surfing for 2 hours each evening after work just to feel alive again. At this point in time I was very much on a raw food path, running breathwork groups on my days off and doing a raw food market stall with my housemates and DJing on the weekends. I felt trapped in my job but couldn't see a clear way out and I was seduced by the security of having a reliable income.

It was during one of the breathwork groups I was leading that I asked everyone to write down something they would like attract into their life. I asked them to be very specific and to put a date by when they would like to have reached their goal. I thought it was probably a good idea to do this as well, so I wrote down that in 3 months time I would like to have left the
Steiner School and be working full-time doing what I love - sharing the rawfood lifestyle message, holding classes, retreats and making a good living from it. I couldn't see how I could possibly achieve this goal in 3 months time from where I stood. I didn't end up reaching the goal in 3 months, however, within 5 months time I had dived into the unknown and left my job not knowing how I was going to support myself, but trusting I would find a way. The market stall ( which I have now sold) blossomed as did the classes and retreats and I knew I was on track.

I am sharing this with you because, I think you will agree most people would like to have greater health and vitality and many talk about eating healthier food, though few actually succeed in actually doing it! Our habits of behaviour over time become ingrained whether they are serving us or not and sometimes it really takes a determined effort to make a positive change. I have found that understanding and applying the Law Of Attraction is a very powerful way to facilitate change in my life so I would like to go a littler further into this now.
I guess you have probably seen or heard about "The Secret" A film which explains this universal "law of attraction": simply put, whatever you focus on you attract into your life - be it what you want or what you don't want. What I didn't realise when I first saw it was that much of "The Secret's" content was taken from the communications of Abraham Hicks. When I heard this I sought out the teachings of Abraham Hicks and have found them to be full of very practical insights. Where "The Secret" describes what the law of attraction is, Abraham Hicks explains how to use it.

Applying this principle (the law of attaction) to health and a living food lifestyle, it makes sense if you want greater health and well-being that you begin to visualise what a radiantly healthy "you" would look like and feel like. Also along the same lines the power of association is incredibly powerful especially when wanting to make a significant change in your life. I was very lucky that when I went onto a raw food diet my whole house hold did it as well! This is not possible for everyone, so what I recommend is if you are really interested in making a transition to healthier, happier living, begin to associate with others who are already treading the path you are wanting to take. Join raw food meetup groups, raw food picnics and if this is not possible join online raw food communities, go to raw classes and retreats, immerse yourself in raw books, DVD's, audio and search the net for info. There is a vast amount of information available. Just last week the very lovely and inspirational Angela Stokes introduced us to a very cool online raw community http://giveittomeraw.com/ where you can meet others aspiring to a raw lifestyle online.

Here is a photo of Runi at our October 2007 Melbourne class at Ross House in the city.

May you be inspired and inspiring and may you attract everything you truly want into your life!

Love peace and deliciously good health to you.

Anand






Friday, January 11, 2008

Hepatitis C, raw food and thank you!


Wow, we really thank everyone who has posted comments on our blog! Thank you for your feedback, encouragement and positivity, it really inspires us.

If you haven't done so already you can have our blog emailed to you by subscribing at www.rawpower.com.au make sure you fill in the blog form at the top of our homepage as our newsletter is a separate publication.

One last technical detail. Today's blog will go out to all our newsletter subscribers as well as to those of you have subscribed to our blog so I apologise if some of you receive this twice. As of the next post you will only receive this blog if you have specifically subscribed to it. If you don't wish to subscribe you can visit at your own leisure at http://onelusciousbite.blogspot.com

My Hep C journey
I would like to share something personal with you which may give hope to Hepatitis C carriers (and also anyone else suffering from chronic disease)

As a legacy of my past drug usage, I have what the medical establishment call Hepatitis C. I must have now had it for at least 22 years as it has been that long since I used drugs. It was only by chance that I discovered it's presence around 7 years ago. The way Hep C is commonly detected is through a liver function blood test: the liver leaks larger than usual quantities of an enzyme called ALT into the blood stream and this is picked up in the blood test.

Hep C is now the number one cause of liver cancer and liver transplants. It often takes 15-20 years before the liver damage really kicks in with cirrhosis and cancer being 2 frequent out comes, not to mention nausea, fatigue and flu like symptoms. The medical world treats it with a drug called Interferon which is incredibly invasive and disabling for many people who take thte 12 month treatment. I have always steered clear of this treatment in favour of a natural approach. Apart from being a toxic chemical which was never meant to be in my body, it often doesn't work especially with the more virulent Hep C genotype one (which I have)

Ok, here is my experience: before I changed my diet to living organic foods 5 years ago my liver function tests would regularly come in with abnormally high ALT readings. For the past 3 years ALL of my tests have come back normal and this is despite having a very high viral load (there is still plenty of the virus present in my blood)

Conclusion? While I am only one person and I can't say with certainty that my approach will work for everyone, it appears that with a raw food diet, exercise meditation and a positive attitude, a potentially lethal virus can be present in your body with out causing any damage.
Somehow, my immune system is dealing with it. I truly believe that our bodies are self-healing mechanisms, which given the right nourishment will heal themselves. My next goal is to see if I can completely remove the virus. Stay tuned in........... Also, if you know of anyone who has removed the virus naturally, I would love to hear about it!

Salad Dressing Recipe
Here is a photo of Runi dressing (a delicious salad:-) - the ingredients for this dressing are:
2 x kefir lime leaves
3cm stalk of fresh lemongrass (from the base)
Juice of one lemon
1/4 chilli
1 stalk of spring onion
1 handful of fresh herbs (coriander and basil)
4 tablespoons of tahini
1/4 teaspoon celtic sea salt
1 dash of wheat free tamari
Enough water to make it runny.

Directions: blend in a powerful blender until smooth. (You really need a good blender. Cheap blenders won't chew through the lemon grass)

Yummmm!


Love peace blessings and radiant health to all

Anand and Runi

Thursday, January 10, 2008

How to receive Anand and Runi's blog by email

Dear friends

If you enjoy our blog you can have it delivered by email. Just go to www.rawpower.com.au and fill out the form at the top of the page. We are aiming to send a blog around 3 times a week.

Our blog and newsletter are two separate publications. The newsletter is less personal and is more about raw events and news. If you wish to subscribe to our newsletter too, the form is at the bottom of our homepage www.rawpower.com.au

Love, peace blessings

Anand

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

A green smoothie a day keeps the doctor away

Hi, Anand here.

We would like these blogs to be useful as well as entertaining so here is perhaps the most simple and effective recipe you will find. It is so powerful that if you just do it without making any other changes to your diet you will feel the benefits.

This is a photo of what I had for breakfast this morning - half a bunch of rainbow chard and 5 lady finger bananas. It looks like and odd combination and certainly very unconventional, however, in around 5 minutes you can transform this into one of the most nutritious, delicious breakfasts/meals available.

1. Peel the bananas and place then in a powerful blender - we use a 2HP Powermill blender.
2. Add one glass of high quality filtered water. We use an Alphion from Jupiter Science which makes the best antioxidant, microclustered, alkaline livng water. Drinking pure living water is even more important than the food we eat.
3. Blend the bananas
4. Add the greens gradually
5. Add your favourite superfoods. (I have added AFA blue green algae, InLiven Probiotic, and wild bee pollen for extra protein, amino acids and friendly bacteria)
6. Drink

The whole process (including washing up) takes under 10 minutes and sustains me for hours.

It is much quicker than juicing, has the whole food with all the fibre (excellent for getting you going in more ways than one) and your body will thank you over and over again.

Remember the food choices you make today and tomorrow will determine your level of health and well-being in the years to come.

If you do nothing else, add one green smoothie to your day. Ideally drink at least 1 litre. If you make extra you can store it in the fridge in a sealed glass jar and top yourself up during the day.

Love, peace and ecstatically good health

Anand

Monday, January 7, 2008

First "in the raw" blog ever

Hi Anand here.

Runi and I are always experimenting with new living food recipes and new approaches to raw, seeing what feels good and tastes great. So much so it is rare for us to eat the same recipe twice. We have decided to create this blog for 2008 to really expose how we live on a daily basis. What we are eating, what we are up to, the recipes and the effects! For those of you who are new to the raw lifestyle this blog will give you a deep insight and hopefully inspiration into what is really possible on a raw food diet 5 years down the track. We will also be sharing much more than just food - spirituality, love, guidance, purpose, life, intimacy, relationships......................

Wow, what a year 2007 was! We travelled to all states except Tasmania teaching "The Art Of Gourmet Raw Food Preparation" classes. Thank you so much for all of you who attended the classes. Sharing this information and these recipes with you brings me so much joy and fulfilment: for the first time in my life I can truly say I am living my dream and the work I do feels like fun. Over 1000 people have now attended our classes and retreats and in 2008 we will be offering trainings to teach those of you who are passionate about this how to run your own classes and how to inspire and help others as a raw food coach. This new venture will be called "One Luscious Bite" and we will keep you up to date with its birthing process in this blog.

Also we have just relocated our home and business (still unpacking) from busy Byron Bay to a more serene but equally beautiful Murwillumbah (40 minutes north of Byron nestled near the heart of the magnificent Mt Warning (Wollumbin) caldera) Moving home and business is HUGE and we are very happy in our new town and abode.
Here is a photo of Runi, Anand, our new home and Raw Power world headquarters :-)

Ok lets get into it! Here is what currently works for me during the course of a day. (this has evolved and will continue to evolve over the months and years I spend on this beautiful planet)

First up in the morning I like to bounce on a rebounder (mini trampoline) for 20 minutes - this loosens me up, wakes me up, drains my lymphatic system and prepares me for meditation. I currently meditate for 20 minutes simply watching the rise and fall my breath. This really helps to set the mood for the day. Relaxed, focused. After meditation I do another 20 minutes of stretching and weight beating exercise like push ups, crunchies, yoga.

One of the most common questions we are asked is "what do you actually eat in a day?" My answer is simply plenty of fresh organic raw fruit and vegetables - today I ate for breakfast 1 dragon fruit (also known as pitahaya, huǒ lóng guǒ (火龍果/火龙果 lit. "fire dragon fruit"), strawberry pear, nanettikafruit, or thanh long) with 2 mangoes and a tablespoon of wild WA bee pollen
Dragon fruit is an amazing fruit packed withb anti oxidants and is fast
gaining popularity where we live in Northern NSW. Mixed with mango and bee pollen it is totally YUMMMMY! A couple of hours after brekky I ate 2 lady finger bananas.

For lunch we had a beautiful salad with nori
seaweed finely chopped, a tahini, lemon juice and tamari dressing and guacamole mixed with fresh blended lemon grass, chilli, celtic sea salt. The greens were cos lettuce, rocket, chicory, parsley, coriander plus we added grated beetroot. I just never get bored with salads - there are endless possibilities.

After lunch we indulged in some raw chocolate fudge (we don't usually eat chocolate except for rare special occasions) however, we are working on some amazing new recipes and of course we have to try them - hazards of our occupation! Seriously though, I feel that raw cacao in small doses is not harmful and it is packed with anti oxidants, magesium and other mood enhancing chemicals such as anandamine a "bliss" chemical which helps stimulate the production of serotonin. Without giving away too many of our secrets in the fudge we used, raw organic fair trade cacao powder, cacao butter, agave syrup, almond meal, medjool dates, coconut oil and a pinch of celtic sea salt. You can actually find our original choc fudge recipe on our website

Dinner was another beautiful salad and I have to admit more chocolate which is probably why I am still here writing at 12.26am! Enough for today. Love peace blessings and radiant health to all. xxx Anand and Runi