RAWsome day!

Greetings and raw salutations!

Hoping this email finds you well and happy - if not, please consider more raw foods in your diet! :-) Did you enjoy your long weekend? Wasn't yesterday unbelievably beautiful? Even the rain the previous day was so welcomed here. Today is another gorgeous day! I've already been in the sunshine a bit. Love the sunshine...

Boy oh boy! It's been a busy couple of weeks! All good stuff though. I can honestly say, however, that my pattern with cooked food was that with this much on my plate, I'd be sick by now. I used to get sick every month and in retrospect, I think I used sickness to take a break. It was like the only way I'd give myself the excuse to take time for myself because I *had* to. What's so interesting about eating raw is that because I don't get sick, I have to "face" the things that I just wasn't aware of (and even the things I was aware of.) Like in the beginning for me of going raw, because I had a lot of "new found" health and energy, it was easy to do a lot of things in the day! And when you work from home, have 2 young kids and have an old house to take care of, etc., well, there lot's to do. But then (and this is funny) months go by and I'm like this work horse, not taking a break and even though I'm not tired physically, my brain is like "hey wait a minute: when am I going to get sick so that I can take a break?" No sickie - keep workie! WAIT! What am I doing here? AH-HA! Time to work on that thing called HARMONY! OH, ok! Wonderful wonderful.

I know for lots of you, these things that I mention above are no-brainers. But for me, it's been about changing a lot of habitual patterns with regards to food and lifestyle. It was scary at first but it's so welcomed now. I'm so much gentler on myself than I used to be. Life is a bit easier when you are an advocate for yourSELF! HA! :-)
(NOTE: there are *plenty* of ways to find harmony in your life. Raw food is not the be-all end-all of everything. I want to make that clear and I know you've heard me mention it a lot. I'm really interested in helping people find what works for them. If raw food helps, I'm happy to show you what I know and we can continue to learn and grow together. Or not. It's all good. Raw food was an excellent catalyst for me to really get some fast shifts and changes in my life. So beneficial to me and my environment...)

Hey, so Matt's 1-year mark for raw food will be the end of next month! (Matt is my hubby in case you weren't aware.) Very exciting! Can't wait to celebrate that one! It occurred to me this past year that we don't do enough celebrating in this culture. We do plenty of partying but I'm referring to the simple honoring with acknowledgment and gratitude of ourselves and of others. Doesn't have to be huge gala events - just taking a moment to say some acknowledgment and really honor whatever it was that you experienced or learned... Anyway, I'm looking forward to hear how Matt wants to celebrate this anniversary of his.

upcoming raw food haps

see my complete calendar here

TONIGHT: Berry Crepes Workshop at Hunger Mountain Coop from 6-7 pm. $12 for non-members and $10 for members. I'm getting lots of questions about, "how do you make raw crepes?" COME AND SEE!!!

Saturday, June 2nd from 2-3 pm: Lemon Pudding Workshop at Plainfield Coop. $12 for non-members and $10 for members. If you missed the Lemon Pudding workshop at HMC, catch it in Plainfield!

Next rawfood potluck is scheduled for Thursday, June 14th from 6-8 pm. Does someone want to lead this? I am finding that this is a bit lower on the priorities for me. I get lots of inquiries about potlucks but this time of the month doesn't seem to work. If you'd like to facilitate the raw potlucks, please call me or email me. Thanks.

Level 1 class is scheduled for Friday, June 8th from 3-8 pm. Level 2 class is scheduled for Saturday, June 9th from 10-6 AND Sunday, June 10th from 10-2. Level 2 is a 2-day class. For more information about the classes, please go here - Payment plans are offered. Please call me to register at 223-2111

Weekly Raw Food Coaching is available! This is ideal for those who wish to receive weekly raw food recipes (a food plan) plus email support. I have weekly recipes for the newbie raw fooder (or for anyone who wishes to have a raw food dietary plan mapped out for them.) You'll receive 3 recipes plus snacks each day for 7 days. Recipes plus shopping list are included as well as email support from me! Cost of weekly food plan + email support is $40.00/week. Contact me at 223-2111 or linda@vt-fiddle.com for more info or to register.

Guided Customized Raw Food Challenges are also available! Please contact me for information: 223-2111 or linda@vt-fiddle.com

• For all of my raw food classes (including Alissa's) I offer a free NUT MILK/SPROUTING BAG to Hunger Mountain Coop members. So mention that when you register for classes and I'll hook you up.

• I also have Alissa's Living on Live Food book here for sale and it is also for sale at Hunger Mountain Coop. 

raw food recipe for this week

I've been seeing watermelon in the stores lately and it's like a wonderful promise of summer! I got a half of a watermelon and this morning made this smoothie. The great thing about this recipe is that except for the lemon, this is a recipe that can be made from local gardens/farms! yippee-skippeee! The kids love this, too. It's so fast and easy. Everyone can begin the day with a smoothie. Raw food is perfect for the busy bee like me.

watermelon berry smoothie

by Linda Wooliever

ingredients:
3-4 cups of chopped watermelon
1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen - freshest is best, but we do the best we can)
1/2 lemon, peeled and de-seeded
1 tsp raw honey or agave (3 bananas, optional)

Put all the ingredients in the VItaMix. No need to add water. You might need to plunge the fruit down to get the VitaMix going. Pour into your favorite glass and enjoy! The kids scarfed this down! This recipe serves two very large smoothies.

Take good care and thank you for everything,
Linda