Howdy folks!

Hoping this email finds you well and happy - if not, please eat more living foods! ;-) Hoping you are enjoying the long weekend, too!

My friend, Jen, came up with "pheRAWmenal" in response to my last email saying I couldn't come up with a word better than gRAWtitude. Kudos, Jen! It works for me! :-)

I'm having a blast and hoping you are as well. We're getting geared up for making food to sell and getting this little cafe thing up and running. Matt is busy working - yippeeeee-skippeeee!! I've been experimenting with different types of raw fudge and you know *that's* a chore to make and sample...NOT! I got a couple displays from a store that closed in town. I'm also now set up to accept credit cards so little by little, we're getting things up and running.

We had a really fun workshop last week at HMC on soups, smoothies and juices. We made an unbelievable watermelon soup, an apple-lemon juice and a smoothie that had some water from a young coconut, a bit of vitamineral green and a banana. All with the Vita-Mix. Oh how I love that Vita-Mix! :-)

I love getting these articles and sharing them with you. Please feel free to send me your favorites.

Cocoa nutrient for 'lethal ills' - my friend Pat sent this to me. It's about a nutrient in cocoa (a.k.a. cacao) called epicatechin. Interesting article about this particular flavanoid found in cacao and how people are looking to isolate it and use it to possibly help people. I think that's awesome and/but I still think eating it in it's whole, natural state (as best as one can do it) is probably a fine way to go... that whole thing about how nature intended it to be used, kind of thing...

how to eat more raw food link - this is from my dad about how to eat more raw food. Another Interesting article and/but I *totally* want to emphasize that raw foods is not just about eating salads and munching on raw broccoli. Here's the list of what you eat in the raw world: fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, sprouted grains, seaweeds, wild edibles, fermented foods like kimchi & sauerkraut, and if you'd like, you can also incorporate super concentrated foods and herbs (and even herbs in smaller concentrations) and also things like wheatgrass. And among that list, you can make raw pizzas, lasagnas, pasta. breads, crackers, echiladas, pies, cakes, truffles, smoothies, puddings, ice creams, fudge, cheeses, salads (of course) and the list goes on and on. I made a raw reuben that was our staple for several months while Matt was transitioning into raw foods. Basically, whatever you make in the cooked food world, you can make in the raw food world. And the best part is that most everything is a breeze to make and takes like 5 minutes to create. No cooking! Once it's made, it's ready to eat. You can eat whatever way that works for you - you're a high carb person? no problem. You want more fat or protein in your diet? That's easy to accommodate. You want to eat locally and wild harvested stuff? Fan-ditty-tastic! You can do that on raw foods as well. This is about finding a way to eat that works for you, that is easier on your body to digest, easier for your body to be really vibrant and healthy. People who think that it takes a great amount of time and effort to eat this way are mistaken. You can take as much time as you want - make it as gourmet or as simple as you want. Our propane bill for the last 3-4 months was $100 - that means $100 for 3-4 months of propane. We just use it to heat our water for washing dishes and our bodies. At this point, Matt & I don't do a lot of dehydrated foods except when I make things for other people but it's good to have for the occasion that we want something like raw crackers or breads. I could go on and on but I'll save the rest for the workshops, potlucks, classes, and/or challenges that you might be interested in taking. It's all good.

upcoming raw food haps

see my complete calendar here

Nut Milk/Sprouting Bags for Sale $7.50 each for 9 x 12 bag or $8.50 for 12 x 12 bag (plus tax) These are high quality nut milk and sprouting bags. Each bag is hand-made right here in VT and quality tested to ensure that you receive the finest product. Satisfaction guaranteed. These bags are ideal for any number of straining or sprouting uses. Fine mesh material minimizes sediment and allows for sprouting of even the smallest of seeds and grains, while bias cut, surge sewn construction ensures durability. We make these bags based on experience and prefer them in our own kitchen. Each bag comes with a nifty how-to and recipes sheet that Linda put together. Please email us to get yours and check around - these are great prices for great product. Ask us about buying these wholesale.

1-Hour Raw Food Workshop at Hunger Mountain Coop, Tuesday, August 28th from 6-7 pm. We're doing a juice recipe, a summer soup recipe and a raw lemonade recipe. Cost is $10 for members, $12 for non-members. These workshops are very informative and fun! For more information, please go to my calendar page here.

Raw food Potluck - can someone volunteer their house per chance? Thursday, September 13th from 6 - 8 pm. If not, we'll have it here at the yellow house in Worcester. Bring a dish to share. Not sure what to make? Cut up fruit is always a hit! I think we'll watch a DVD that I have - maybe on Ann WIgmore or one by Gabriel Cousens. Or maybe we'll just chat and have fun.

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 for sale and it is also for sale at Hunger Mountain Coop. 

raw food recipe of the week

Thought this would be fun for labor day weekend...

Ingredients

3 cups water
10 mint leaves (I like spearmint)
3 cups nut milk (almond, walnut, etc.)
1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1⁄4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3⁄4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
1⁄2 cup raw honey or agave, (you may want to use less)

Preparation

Begin by placing mint leaves in the 3 cups of water and let sit in a warm, sunny location for a few hours. (If you don't have any nut milk prepared, now is a good time to soak 1 cup of nuts so that you can make the milk and the chai at the same time.)

When the mint has soaked for a few hours, prepare your nut milk and strain. Return nut milk to blender. remove the mint leaves from water and save for another use, adding the 3 cups of mint water to the blender with your nut milk. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend for 1-2 minutes to help the flavors "marry".

Serve over ice, or, if your blender can handle ice crushing, add the ice to the chai and blend to make a chai smoothie. Yum, yum, yum. Try not to drink it all in one sitting. :-)

You remember how to make nut milk, right?

1 cup of raw almonds or nuts/seeds of your choice. Put them in a bowl, cover them with filtered water and let them sit on the counter overnight. When you wake up in the morning, drain them, rinse them and put them in your Vitamix. Add 3 cups of water and whatever sweetener you like to use: 1 tsp. honey, or 2 or so dates, or a tiny squirt of liquid stevia, or 1 tsp of agave... Buzz it in the blender for 30 seconds or so. Turn it off. Pour the nut milk through one of our RAWsome nut milk bags to strain the mash out of the milk. ET VOILA! Delicious, nutritious, alive nut milk! Pour some of this on that breakfast cereal above and eat with lots of love in your heart. This is worth living for!

Enjoy RAWdient health!
Linda