63 Pounds of.....

....STRAWBERRIES!!!!!

David and I went strawberry picking with ma Rineke yesterday morning and picked, yes, 63 pounds! What a treat! I ate so many berries while picking that they stopped tasting good to me for the rest of the day, (that is a lot of berries!) but luckily this morning I was ready and eager to add some of the red jewels to my morning green smoothie.

I also got a lovely link from Jinjee's Daily Raw Inspiration for finding a U-Pick near you, click here. (BTW if you haven't signed up for this amazing daily resource, do it! I love reading what Jinjee has to pass along every day, and often discover new and wonderful things from her lovely words and links.) Check it out! Nothing tastes better than food right from the source, still warm from the sun.

Katrina in berry heaven!
Ma Rineke in her berry picking hat.
David and Katrina with the load of berries from Stowel Lake Farm.
David and strawberries.
Ma Rineke and Katrina prepare the berries for freezing. Come December these berries are going to be very special, a taste of sunshine!

We are doing wonderfully, we hope you are too! More to come on life post-Juice Feast soon! Today we have come to stay with Ayrie, Constanze, and Finny-Foo and they are planning on doing a post-Feast video, and I'll be sure to post it here once it is up and live.

Love and blessings,

Katrina

Where Is The Raw/Living Foods Movement Headed?

The internet is really pushing the widespread knowledge, fascination, and acceptance of plant-based raw and living foods in the past 5 years. It seems everyone has a blog, a book, and is a raw food chef. We are all writing volumes about our personal experiences validating much of what plant-based nutrition experts have been saying for years. The library of printed knowledge has grown immensely, and you may have noticed recently that books on raw foods and raw food preparation are disproportionately represented on the bookshelves at your local whole foods-style market. We are still a minority, but our books are dominating the shelves, a sign of our creativity, understanding, and dedication to teaching this valuable knowledge and making it accessible to a wider audience (literally :) ).

Dr. Brian Clement of Hippocrates Health Institute was recently asked where the Raw Foods Movement would be in 10 years, and he gave this answer:



I agree with Dr. Clement, and want to continue this line of thought with the social changes I think we are going to see with the Raw Foods Movement, which will begin from within the movement itself.

BIG MIND - BIG HEART OF THE RAW FOODS MOVEMENT
In the past 3-5 years, I think we have gone a long way in the Raw Foods Movement in surpassing the fundamentalist, hard-core political/eco activist energy of the Vegan Movement, having included the best nutritional and social/economic/political realities, but without the harsh judgement or anger included. This is not to say that the Vegan Movement does not still have this sharp edge, but it would appear that a move to Raw Vegan is more expansive and legitimately hopeful that this is a cuisine that everyone can access, and all are invited - even those that have knowingly created harm.

I would suggest that the honest move to a plant-based raw/living foods diet involves a forgiveness of oneself, and an understanding that each of us has lived more egocentrically, less worldcentrically, in our own ways. There is a recognition that we must wake up together if we are to heal the many forms of damage we have collectively created. Guilt and blame become elements with limited use, except to acknowledge, learn, and move ahead.

In the next 10 years, I see the Raw Foods Movement as being commonly acknowledged as having many of the qualities other aspects of society will want to adopt: a grounded living in joy, cooperation over competition, living as a worldcentric act of love, and local economy (which is the last aspect of the Raw Foods Movement I want to discuss). What ground have we covered?

- Those of us who consider ourselves part of the Raw Foods Movement have, as a group, moved up the Spectrum of Diet away from processed, animal, and cooked foods.

- We have honored the value of fresh, nutrient-dense, local foods for their healing and health-protective qualities, not to mention the environmental protection, animal protection, and social/economic/political realities.

- We have figured out how to prepare raw foods in a delectable way for ourselves who want to be healthy.

- Moreover, we have developed thousands of dishes that even non-raw/plant-based eaters devour in front of us, leaving us with little food for ourselves as parties. Even some of our skeptical parents and friends have adopted Green Smoothies, more salads, juicing, and visits to raw food restaurants.

- We have recently made raw foods acceptable to the mainstream.

- Finally, with the advent of high petrol prices and a gentle awareness of optimal food freshness, we are pushing (and are being pushed) towards local foods. So what is the next step?


MOVING TO THE LAND
I believe it is moving to the land, and I do say "moving to the land," not "moving back to the land," because most of us at this point never lived on the land. The Raw Foods Movement is going to see a significant emphasis on urban farming; Urban Food Forests - a term I learned from Victoria, BC visionary Ayrie Cunliffe; and moving to the land out of economic and nutritional necessity. Food prices are skyrocketing, and recent events such as the mandatory pasteurization of almonds, the persistent efforts by agribusiness to dumb down organic standards, and suggestions to irradiate all leafy greens, etc. are threatening our fresh food supply.

This move to the land will not be best based on romantic visions of a fairy-tale Laura Engels Wilder "Little House on the Prairie" existence, but a solid use of the best technologies we have created with the Urban Experiment - such as the internet, radio, telephone, permaculture and organic practices perfected and widely printed in books that we all have access to, extraordinary nutritional and health knowledge, and a new appreciation for the impact our local living has on the entire planet.

Moving to the land is a big step, however, just as making plant-based live foods nutrition non-scary, solid, and scientifically-based has been. Keep your eye out in the Raw Foods Movement for those who are already growing food in urban and rural environments, and harvesting wild foods.

In my upcoming book, Juice Feasting: An Integral Hero's Guide, I will discuss this change and others, including political, economic, ecological, religious, and spiritual shifts.

With peaceful steps,

David Rainoshek, MA in The Green Room
www.JuiceFeasting.com

Safe Landings, happy homecoming!

Hello Dear Friends!

We have arrived! It is beautiful here and we are very happy to be here.

It turned out to be the best move either of us have ever had, smooth as silk, and we flowed along juicily through all the changes. We woke up on a Wednesday morning, and by the next Wednesday we were driving across the border to Canada! The whole trip, 2,100 miles, was done on veggie oil, and we even took a day to enjoy an engagement anniversary in Yosemite National Park (it was a year ago we got engaged there!) where we drank Green Smoothies in the meadow, had a picnic lunch by the river, swam in the river, rode our bikes, and kept saying to each other "this is the best move we have ever done!" Here are some pictures of our move:

David and Katrina all set to go, goodbye little Patagonia house!
Breakfast in Tuolumne Meadows, the best Green Smoothie ever!
Yum Yum!
Celebrating Yosemite Falls and the Merced River.
A picnic lunch by the Merced River.Riding bikes at the foot of Half Dome.

We arrived in time to celebrate Ayrie and Constanze's Feast Breaking with Green Smoothies in the garden! 100 Days of Juice for these two juicies!
Ayrie and Katrina drinking Green Smoothies.
Happily re-united sisters. Katrina and Heather in the under-construction Cafe Bliss.
David and Katrina in the garden.

It feels wonderful to be in the lush, green, temperate rainforest of west coast Canada. I was ready to leave the desert, as much as I loved living there, and my whole being celebrated as we drove north to land where I grew up. We have been snaking on wild rose petals, juicing dandelion greens, watching the salal berries ripen, and filling up on local greens that seem to come from heaven!

Thank you so much to all of you who wrote with beautiful words of support for our sudden move, we appreciate and love you all!

Just today we have finalized a home for ourselves, and it will be very nice to see all of our books again when we move in come August. We just found out too that the people who lived in the house before us were raw foodists too, and the woman who owns the house is a fan of Ann Wigmore and has grown wheatgrass in precisely the spot I planned on doing so when I saw the house! Until then we are enjoying the hospitality of my mom and her husband Brad. We feel it is a special treat to be living with them at this point in our lives, as we all get to have many moments together that otherwise would not be possible. Right now my mom and David are making lunch together, salad and a raw tomato soup from lovely local yum! Time for lunch!

We will be in touch soon!

We hope you are all well, and have you in our thoughts with love and blessings,

David and Katrina

Global Juice Feast Days 88-91!

I Love New Beginnings!

Juice Feast Day 88-91

The Daily Juice Journal:

This morning I made 2 quarts of GVJ with cucumber, celery, spinach, romaine, kale, parsley, carrot, ginger and apple. I also made 2 quarts of orange and pineapple, and two quarts of …..GREEN SMOOTHIE!! Read on for details!

TOTAL JUICE: 4 QUARTS JUICE and 2 QUARTS green smoothie

Personal Journal:

Hello dear friends!

Wow, what a couple of days we have had!

On Day 88 we went into Tucson for chores and to meet with an attorney about my Green Card. After much debate, brainstorming, and checking in with gut feelings, we have decided (with the council of someone with 30 years experience in these things) that the best thing for us to do at this point is to move to Canada for a while.

Because of the time frame (I have to be out of this country very, very soon), we decided as well that it was time for me to break out of my Juice Feast! So the evening of Day 88 found me enjoying an amazing, yummy, green smoothie!

Early on Day 89 we started to pack up our darling little house, and today, Day 91, finds me sitting in an empty house, with just the bed and the computers left, and almost all the cleaning is done too! Tomorrow morning, Day 92, we will be pulling away from Patagonia with our truck loaded down with all of our books, headed North to B.C.!

It has really been a roller coaster these past few days, and a bit of a shock as we had planned on living here for at least a year longer. I wish I had more time to write, but we still have quite a bit to tie up before we leave tomorrow, so I will keep this quick….

GREEN SMOOTHIES??? Where are the prunes? After a long time coming, www.JuiceFeasting.com will soon be updating the Juice Feast Breaking protocol to green smoothies rather than prunes. Prunes have been used due to their BM prompting activities, and while they work wonderfully for this, often they work too well! This has left quite a few of our students with uncomfortable prune experiences, including bloating and gas, and poo-poria!!

So, keep your eyes open for the updated version of Feast Breaking! And for those of you about to break your Feasts tomorrow (!!!) here is a quick rundown:

Day 1 (Day 93): Drink all of your regular juices, and add in 1 quart of green smoothie. I made my first green smoothie with ½ quart orange/pineapple juice, ½ banana, ½ pound blueberries, 1 mango, and ½ pound spinach, and 8 soaked prunes. Blend really well, chew really well, soak in the bliss and gratitude of some solid food after an amazing Juice Feast! This is a celebration!!

Day 2: Drink all of your regular juices, and 1-2 quarts of green smoothie.

Day 3: Drink some juice, some smoothies, and add in some whole, fresh, juicy fruits and berries.

Day 4: Same as Day 3.

Day 5: Drink some juice, some smoothies, eat some fruit, and add in some non-fat salads.

Day 6: Same as day 5.

After Day 6 you can move into The Four Means To Get Your Greens! Enjoy!

Be sure to read the Feast Breaking Protocol, and simply replace prunes with Green Smoothies!

Because we have been madly packing, tying up all loose ends, preparing to move countries, all with very little time to do so, I did not get a chance to do a Feast Breaking video BUT we are still planning on creating one to be uploaded sometime after we arrive and get settled in Canada. So I apologize to those of you Juice Feasting with us on the Global Juice Feast that we will not be so involved with Feast Breaking as we would like to be. We are there with you in spirit! And we are so grateful to all of you who have joined us in juice, and so proud of all of us!

I can report that I feel AMAZING and WONDERFUL to be eating again! It took me about a day to accept the fact that going 92 Days would not be such a good idea for me, as it would have meant Feast Breaking on the road with a truck FULL of stuff. I wanted my stomach to be ready to eat normally again before heading off with our home packed in a tow-trailer, rather than trying to make juice while rushing up to get me across the border. But, once I started to eat again I felt so heavenly that the number of days really didn’t matter any more. I have had a truly transformative, exciting, joyful and powerful Juice Feast, and for that I am deeply grateful.

I am still fully enjoying making juice and drinking juice, and I look forward to having a very juicy diet from here on out! Today so far I have had 1 quart of GVJ, 1 quart of orange/pineapple, and a green smoothie with OJ, strawberries, mango, celery, and spinach. I am going to have a salad for lunch, and still have 2 quarts of juice for the rest of the day. I know it is not my salad day yet, but I have to get this stomach ready!

We are looking forward to hearing how everyone is doing post-Juice Feast once we arrive in B.C. and wish you all the best of smoothies and joyful moments! We will be leaving early tomorrow morning, and will check in again from Canada!

All of our love and blessings,

Katrina and David

Global Juice Feast Day 87!

I Love Tumbleweed! (in my juices when it is young and green, before it dwarfs a bench!)

Juice Feast Day 87

The Daily Juice Journal:

This morning I made 3 quarts of GVJ with cucumber, celery, spinach, romaine, dandelion greens, kale, parsley, cilantro, baby tumbleweed, carrot, ginger and apple. I also made 2 quarts of orange and pineapple, and one quart of watermelon, apple, lime, and ginger, and one quart of watermelon, apple, raspberry, and ginger (OUTSTANDINGLY GOOD AGAIN!)

TOTAL JUICE: 7 QUARTS JUICE

Added to juices: Vitamineral Green, kelp, bee pollen, MSM and maca.

Also taken: Vitalzym, Max Stress B, coconut oil, DHA/Flax/Evening Primrose Oil, Internal Parasite Formula and water.

Personal Journal:

We just got in from a sunset walk through the fields, where we picked a huge bag of tumbleweed to be put in the dehydrator to later blend into green superfood powder!! I was asked recently what the nutritional benefits of adding young tumbleweed to juices is.

I found limited young tumbleweed nutritional information on line, but I also found this about eating the little green plants, also known as Salsola (I like that name!)

Salsola as food:

The leaves and shoots of many species are edible, especially when young and tender, and some are grown as vegetables, often used for salads, sushi, or as a garnish. The most commonly eaten European species is Salsola Soda known in Italy as Barba di Frate or Agretti. In Japan, S. komarovii is a crop of moderate importance, known locally as okahijiki (literally "land hijiki").

The seeds are also edible, although difficult to collect in quantity, and are sometimes ground into flour.

(From Wikipedia.com)

I like it that it is known as "land hijiki" in Japan, a kind of desert seaweed!

One thing I did find out is that tumbleweed is about 12% protein, which makes higher in protein, gram for gram, than meat!

As far as I am concerned, any plant that can survive and flourish in this arid land is full of life force and vitality, and I am thankful to the little salsolas for their tender greens shoots. When I was working at the Tree of Life, at this time of year there was always a bowl of salsola shoots on the lunch buffet table, to be added to salads. I also discovered several recipes for tumbleweed soups on line, and one person claimed that it makes a soup very similar to split pea soup. Might be worth a try to create a raw salsola soup!

Till tomorrow, may your juices and dreams be sweet!

Katrina and David

Global Juice Feast Day 86!

I Love Re-Bounding!

Juice Feast Day 86

The Daily Juice Journal:

This morning I made 3 quarts of GVJ with cucumber, celery, spinach, romaine, dandelion greens, kale, parsley, cilantro, baby tumble weed, carrot, ginger and apple. I also made 2 quarts of orange and pineapple, and one quart of watermelon, apple, lime, and ginger (OUTSTANDINGLY GOOD!)

TOTAL JUICE: 6 QUARTS JUICE

Added to juices: Vitamineral Green, kelp, bee pollen, MSM and maca.

Also taken: Vitalzym, ginger/lemon/honey tea, antioxidant extreme, Max Stress B, Internal Parasite Formula and water.

Personal Journal:

Well, I think we are finally 100% over the ill effects of that wild dust storm! When we were in town yesterday we spoke to several people who also got terrible allergies/flu from the dust, and Annie at the health food store even said that the store had been very quiet due to the windstorm! Finally after stiff legged days of post Grand Canyon hiking and then the dust flu I really got a good bounce on the re-bounder today. My cells love dancing!

I really can’t believe there are just six more days of Juice Feasting for me! WOOOOOOOOOWWWWZERS! What a trip it has been! I am in the twilight of my Juice Feast, the sunrise of the rest of my life! What a fabulous feeling, to feel so clean, healthy, and strong, I am so grateful! Enough exclamations???!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ah! Ah! Ah! But I am so exclaimingly happy!!!!!!!!!!!!! (and so is David who is munching mangos beside me, working on a chapter)

LOVE!

Katrina and David

Global Juice Feast Day 85!

I Love Roses!
Juice Feast Day 85

The Daily Juice Journal:

This morning I made 3 quarts of GVJ with cucumber, celery, spinach, romaine, dandelion greens, kale, baby garden greens, parsley, baby tumble weed, carrot and apple. I also made 2 quarts of orange and pineapple, and one quart of watermelon, apple, lemon, lime and orange.

TOTAL JUICE: 6 QUARTS JUICE

Added to juices: Vitamineral Green, kelp, bee pollen, and maca.

Also taken: Vitalzym, MSM, ginger/lemon/honey tea, coconut oil, DHA/flax oil, antioxidant extreme, Max Stress B, Internal Parasite Formula and water.

Personal Journal:

Today we went for a wander in the Patagonia Community Garden and smelled the roses. Then we went for an afternoon stroll through the bird sanctuary, and loved the lushness...Arizona is full of surprises!

With LOVE!!

Katrina and David