Breakfast with Bunnies!

Northern Lake Superior is keeping me busy, emphasizing that eating well is important as ever. Each morning begins then by munching watermelon, my favourite healing summer fruit, with a family of bunny rabbits who eat their own grassy wild weed breakfast on my front lawn.

Wildlife surrounds me here: deer, moose, wolf, caribou, a symphony of birds singing all day, cougar, squirrels, chipmunks, foxes and many many other wild ones. Mother earth rejoices and dances upon the summer days, gracing every one of my meals with vivid clarity and meditation on how living away from computers and phones charges the spirit naturally and automatically: I absorb and appreciate the food I eat more here, I  feel more creative, grounded, and loved, even though there are barely any humans around.

Speaking of which, I must sign off for the summer to make like Anastasia and disappear back into the forest, but why not try to connect with a tree today if you are in the city, or take your shoes off and connect with some bare earth or the grass to counter all the electromagnetic effects you may not even notice from your  computer, television, your DVD player?

And if you’re not quite there yet (I know what it’s like to live in the city), at least come dance with Mother Earth and me by reading an Anastasia book, and you’ll see instantly what I mean:

http://www.ringingcedars.com/books/1/

I shall miss you, dear readers! I leave you for the summer with a quote from Dr.Seuss: “Be who you are and say what you mean, because those who matter don’t mind, and those who mind don’t matter.”

Blessings in this moment’s sun everyone! LOVE!

What I consumed today:

Watermelon munched alongside wild bunnies on the lawn

Celery, apple, sunflower sprout and cayenne juice

Kale salad with lemon, milled flax, sunflower, sesame, pumpkin, and chia seed, olive oil and sea salt

Raw Trail Mix for long hikes

Plenty of fresh sand-filtered Lake Superior water

Oregano oil under the tongue

Sand in my toes

Li ve probiotics

Sunshine for my whole body, including my very happy belly

Avocado and apple

Affirmations and meditations to help my family and I heal through crisis

Pencil crayon colouring, wild writing and painting beneath northern Ontario stars at night

Smiles from the wildlife and my very happy Maine Coon cat Pepe who is summering up here with us : ) ))

Let’s fly into July . . .

What a transformation: 17 medical diagnoses and over 252 pounds. After all these years raw, I am flying into the summer of 2010. Literally! This summer I’ve flown up to a remote area of Northern Ontario, to a secluded shore on Lake Superior where I’m foraging wild greens, getting my heart rate up hiking while communing with wildlife, then harmonizing juices and smoothies back in the nest. Spring still keeps us cool for now, but I’ve got my summer dress wings, belly-baring bikini, and hiking boots out and ready.

None of this would be possible without raw food. Sometimes we forget that what we eat sets the soil and determines what blooms in our lives.  Heavier foods cultivate heavier more stagnant lives. Lighter foods grown with love and hand-picked from the earth keep our minds, hearts, and our bodies light – in fact, they bounce you everywhere. This energy has taken me to places I never knew possible.

You choose: what kind of life do you want to live?

What I consumed today:

Collard, apple juice

Superpower chocolate smoothie: vital green powder, earth root powder, sea veggie powder, wild blueberries, honey, cacao, water, orange, celery, coconut oil

Frozen strawberries which are like my popsicles: )

Plenty of fresh air, water, sun

Long hike in the wild forests of northern Ontario

Earth energy from shore rocks during long meditation

Coconut oil for my skin

Organic kale salad with olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt and avocado, topped with this blend of seeds grinded in the vitaMix: flax, sesame, hemp, chia, and sunflower seed

Nature’s visuals to keep my soul warm, heart wildly alive and spirit soaring eagle high

Apple with almond butter sprinkles (in heart shapes of course : )

5 Ways to Eat More Raw Living Foods (Part 5/5)

Superfoods are rare roots from the earth, sea vegetables and unthinkable amounts of greens dehydrated at nutrient-preserving temperatures, and then ground into powders that make nutrition easy on the go.

Scoop them into smoothies or water and you’ll be driving past the fast food drive-through on the way to work because your body will just want more, and your spirit will know this is the way Living is meant to feel.

Last week I was on my way to Northwestern Ontario, where the closest place to buy organic produce is two hours away (hence my missing a blog), but thanks to these powders I didn’t miss a beat of the ultimate vitality, clear inner peace, and giggling joy I’ve known since going raw.

Is your scoop out yet? The sooner you stick out your tongue and start gulping, the faster you’re flying down the superfood highway with me.

5 Ways to Eat More Raw Living Foods Part 4/5

 Rawluck anyone?

Attending a raw food potluck power-packs variety, culinary brilliance and social time with eager people ready to answer questions and hand out recipes.

Visit www.MeetUp.com to search for your area’s raw/living food potlucks. If you are in the Toronto area, come visit ours, the York Region Raw Food Potluck group, and we’ll get inspired, re-charge, and vibe high together!

What I consumed today:

1 young coconut (water and meat…YUM!)

green juice (romaine, beet, apple, carrot, watercress, cayenne, purple cabbage, touch sea salt)

dandelion kisses

lots of fresh water infused with minerals

2 drops of oregano oil

sunshine

yoga class energy

kale salad with sunflower seed, cayenne, chili pepper, dark and golden flax, sesame dressing

fresh bike riding air through the forest

sea veggie superfood power

5 Ways to Eat More Raw Living Foods (Part 3/5)

How many vegetables can you pack into coleslaw? Dust off the food processor to find out. Gather as many colours and flavours you can find in the produce section, then pack and pulse, pack, pulse until you just can’t fit anymore. Drizzling your favourite living raw salad dressing is next. Ahhh the nutrients!

What I consumed today:

Sprouted buckwheat cereal with raspberries, cacao powder, goji berries and coconut water for milk

Lots of nutrient-packed coleslaw (cabbage, carrot, broccoli, red pepper, parsnip, pak choy, collard,  onion, garlic, with three-oil apple cider vinegar dressing, sea salt and a touch of Nama Shoyu)

1 orange

Sunshine, fresh air, tickling tree leaves against my cheek

Large green juice with blueberries, hemp seed, flax seed, sesame seed, kale, dandelion, celery, apple

Fresh garden salad with extra virgin olive oil, lemon and sea salt as dressing

Sunflower Nut burger with sunflower sprouts

Umpteen amounts of chive and onion dressed kale chips

2 drops oregano oil and sea vegetable superfood supplement

**********this blog was published in Tonic Toronto Magazine ************

Mother’s Day with Mama Muse!

I talk about Mama Earth a lot, but there is a woman, of the human variety, who birthed me. Her name is Maria Grace, and on my way home from my west coast travels last year, I stopped at her home in Columbus, Ohio “for the Christmas holidays” and ended up staying 6 months.

Why?

Because Mama Maria caught the raw spirit fire! Last time she had seen me I was struggling with health and weight and life in general, so when I showed up vibrant and slim and stoked up on live raw superfoods, she pumped up her usual supportive nature and jumped in with me. “Why not?” she said, and without skipping a blender beat I began preparing green smoothies everyday – rivers of them! She started bringing one to work with her everyday and here’s what she noticed right away: shiny skin, lighter feeling (no more puffiness or bloatedness), ache-free joints, increased energy, fewer headaches, less moodiness, less stress and an overall feeling of peace.

And six weeks later? She was off her thyroid medication and 20lbs lighter.

Photo: Mama with her love-size kale salad that we (shhhhh!) ate without utensils

I love you Mama Grace.  Thank you for hugging me hard my whole life. For imprinting your love of huge green salads onto me. For reminding me that no matter how hard life feels, or seems, the trees still stand strong and the earth’s soil cradles me always. Thank you for surprising me with raw cinnamon toast in the dehydrator. Thank you for our sleepover parties as kids and for dancing with us through the 80s and making us heart-shaped pancakes in the morning. Thank you for seeing animals in the rocks (“look that rock is a hippo!”) on our forest hike the other day. Thank you for filling my soul with your smile for thirty-five years, for giving me everything you have, and instilling in me a knowing that you are there, and here, for me, always, no matter how far the physical distance between us.

Sharing the raw journey with our family totally RAWKS, doesn’t it? Opening, sharing, healing and celebrating raw with my mom has been such a blessing. It has touched my life with magic and inspired me to spread the love more, more, everywhere! I still tear up every time she calls to say she just created a new goji-mango cereal for breakfast, or that she found a new way to make green smoothies delicious or “guess what! I have another raw salad dressing recipe for you! Try this…”

Remember to give your mother a piece of your heart today, and every day, especially if petty earth stuff sits between you blocking the way to open-hearted love, because underneath it all, she loves you, and you love her, and when you eat raw (whether the people around you do or not) it becomes easier to sit firmly in that space where love is the only resonation that registers and manifests. So go on, get munching greens together, get sharing that cacao love recipe or sips of a life-giving energy-divvying smoothie. Share mama earth food and your hearts until they beat as the only reality: an ever-healing universal oneHeart.

Happy day everyone, I love you Mamas! 

 

Welcome, Terra Muse!

Have you checked out the Muse section yet? If not, click the tab above to read Kristi Mahy’s bio because today I’m digging down deep with our Terra Muse. 

Q: You are a true earth goddess, I honour the way you have given so much of your life to sustaining the planet. Why do you think some people are inspired to give this way while others don’t even think about it?

A: Many people (including myself) are deeply inspired by a sense of connection to Earth and through the realization that our human health is interconnected with planetary health. We love wind on our skin, soil in our hands, water lapping over our feet. We enjoy walking in natural areas, gardening with our children and sitting outside on a sunny day. We feel a wonderful connection with all life and want to do our best ot ensure Earth stays as healthy as possible.  We all have this inherent bond and it sustains us. Some of us have realized it and act on it to a greater or lesser extent. 

 

Photo: Kristi in the California Redwoods 

I think many people are at a point in their lives where money, status and
hard work towards these goals have become driving factors for them. All of
this striving to have more has distracted a lot of people from pursuing
their passions and what makes them truly happy. It has also prevented many of us from gaining the skills we need to live sustainable lives. Many of us have forgotten how to garden, how to prepare fresh, healthy food, how to
live in nature, how to play and laugh. Many of us have forgotten how much
joy comes from spending time with those we love or taking time to enjoy a
favourite pastime. We have forgotten how much greater these simple joys can be than working 9-5 each day to buy a nicer car. I think we can all start to remember anytime we choose to.

This is not meant to be a judgement on those who work full time jobs or
don’t get outside too much. Its just a gentle reminder that you can do
whatever you choose to with your time. You can spend more time in nature and make more effort to protect it. You can live a healthy life and help to heal this planet. You can start now in any small way you choose.

Q: What moves someone closer to how you live, so that we are all contributing to a healthier planet, at a time when Mama Earth needs us most?

A: I think all that is needed is for each person to decide sustainable, healthy
living is important to them. When we remember what is important and what
makes us truly happy, when we begin to live joyfully, we’ll live sustainably. When I am trying to decide what is important to me, I ask myself this question: “When I am dying, what will I wish I had done more of in my life?” And then I give priority to those things. Usually my dying self favours things like time with loved ones over time at the office. It also favours fresh raw garden food over processed, fast foods. We have to learn to prioritize. Shouldn’t the most important and joyful things in our life be given the most time?

Q: Your workshops are so inspiring and useful! When I lived in the city I hardly knew how to pot a plant, let alone build a garden to feed myself from, and I wasn’t the only one. Tell us more about the wisdoms you teach?

A: Even among people who are very environmentally aware, I still see a lack of hands-on skills to take on sustainable projects. Gardening is one example.
So I decided I would put my experience as an organic market gardener to use over the winter and try to make these skills more available. Most of what I teach is centred around the ideas and specific practices invovled in growing or sourcing sustainable, healthy food. My workshops cover topics such as growing food inside over the winter months, starting your own backyard garden, how to preserve foods through creative means, how to prepare local, whole foods and how to forage wild edibles and medicinals. The workshops have been very successful so far and I am looking to expand them and offer them to more people.

Photo: Kristi on the OTESHA (“reason to dream”) bike tour. She travelled 14000 km through Nova Scotia and New Brunswick putting on plays for children that teach environmentally-friendly choices.

Q: Are you ready for July 2010’s year-long bike trip?

A: Will I ever be really ready for a trip like this? I think there’s always
something that holds you back a little and you just have to decide you’re
going to try it anyway. To have adventure and gain experience, you always
have to take a risk.

I’m very happy with the amount of planning and outreach we’ve done; the
number of great places we’ve confirmed to visit and the vision we’ve
developed. Our main goal is to bring the message that sustainable living is
possible to as many people as possible. I feel very good about giving a year
of my life toward that mission.

I am so excited to visit and learn from sustainable projects ranging from
natural materials building, to organic agriculture, to herbal healing, to
bioremediation. I hope folks will be interested in following our journey at
www.PedalAcrossTheAmericas.com. It should be an exciting outlet for all the information we gather along the way, including interviews with those
involved in sustainable projects, how-to instructions for do it yourself
green projects and fun stories from our travels.

One area we are a little behind in is sponsorship. We need money to help pay
for cycling equipment, a video camera to interview inspiring people along
the way, and a few other essentials. We’ve been applying for a lot of
grants, so we’re hoping things will pick up soon, as many applications are
due in March to May. We are looking for suggestions, so please contact us if
you have any! info@pedalacrosstheamericas.com

Thank you, kindred Earth Woman. How do we keep in touch with you?

 Feel free to email me through this website or kristi.mahy at gmail.com

Onaen’s Gift

Happy b-Earth Day, Mama Planet! Today we’re celebrating a community living with intention, and honouring everything YOU.

“Onaen” meant “to kindle” in days of Olde. Coursing through whisperings ethereal, this spirit found solace in the Onaen House centuries yonder, a home birthed by a group of university students who decided to manifest a dream we all share today: to live closer to nature. And here we, here ye are, landing in the painting of life as Mother Earth intended. So come, come hither!

Without any special student grants or emissaries, the first step was taken: they bought a house with a cold cellar, and insulated the attic with shredded, tightly-packed recycled newspaper. They agreed to use only cleaning and beauty products that are environmentally friendly, then put  basins in the sinks to catch used water, making it easy to pour it back outside, into the earth, instead of down the drains, and keeping awareness about the amount of water they use earth-smiling high. Then, they started moving in, without cars or big trucks,

and planned a garden to feed them all year long.

They dug it out, spiral-pathed, seeded  it,

nurtured  it, until it bloomed,

and the cycle of life took over, right there, 5 minutes from the city’s downtown core.

They started ignoring their dryer,

traded in their huge refrigerator for one they could actually fill,

and even auditted their own garbage output (finding it surprisingly…fun!)

Intentional living inspires communion, openness and helps us realize our oneness. Everyone is welcome to share vegetables from Onaen’s front gardens, and come inside for foodmaking, crafting and giftmaking, any time of the year, to dance with the synchronicity resulting from living this way, so pure and intense in nature, enriching us far beyond what we could have conceived of before.

And if those gifts aren’t enough, well, think of all the money you’ll save, the true friends and family you’ll gain, and the sense of belonging and education you’ll receive amidst ocean-sized flows of inspiration.

Thank you, Onaen, for guiding our Mama Earth dancing feet.

Abundant ideas for greener living I consumed today:

Backyard composting

Shared food with local organic focus

Colder water

‘Let it mellow if it’s yellow, brown flushes down’ toilet mantra

Lower heating

Sun-powered dehydrator (en route to Onaen)

Free-roaming chickens in yard for community eggs

Rain water shower bag to dance and sing in under outside showers

Gray water system (en route to Onaen)

Plentiful garden to feed community

Re-using rinse water from washing machine via laundry sink tubs

Indoor grow lights for sprouts and micro-greens

Rainwater barrels outside

Compostable toilets (en route to Onaen)

How to ignore your dryer 101

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“What it takes is a scale at which one can feel a degree of control over the processes of life, at which individuals become neighbours and lovers instead of just acquaintances and ciphers, makers and creators instead of just users and consumers, participants and protagonists instead of just voters and taxpayers.” –The Human Scale

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

5 Ways to Eat More Raw, Living Foods (Part 2/5)

Photo: Sea vegetable superhero powder atop beet juice

Superfoods make superheros: that’s me and that’s you, especially when we live raw!

Roots from deep within the earth, sea vegetables and unthinkable amounts of greens are dehydrated at nutrient-preserving temperatures and then ground into powders, making nutrition easy on the go. According to your preferences for taste and texture, you can sprinkle them onto salads, scoop ‘em into smoothies, juices or plain water – I even met a goddess at a raw festival who scooped ‘em straight into her mouth.

Where to find these? Learn to identify edible wild weeds, mushrooms and roots then gather, dehydrate and grind them into powders yourself. Recently I learned you can cultivate your own algaes and sea plants at home, I’ll let you know when I try it. Meantime, buy them online or at your favourite nearby health food store to power your cells and manifest surreal events daily!

The super-lion super-powered superhero-creeded noise to make while you experiment with tip #2?:

GorrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRaw!

What I consumed today:

Green juice: celery, apple, dark kale, cayenne and lemon juice

Kale salad with carrot, mint, apple, oils, sea salt

Chocolate concoction: cacao, goji berries, carob, flax and sesame seed, date, and coconut oil

Celery throughout the day: some dipped into raw hummus spread, others into salsa and guacamole, some into nut butter

1 orange

Sea veggie powder, liquid sunshine and 2 drops oregano oil

Nettle, mint and lemon balm infusion

Lots of fresh water

Cryptonite and crystal meditation infusions at superhuman speeds and extraordinarily efficient volumes

5 Ways to Eat More Raw, Living Foods (Part 1/5)

Berry Smoothie Photo by Garrett Gauthier

Watch your energy rise, mental clarity astound, and health challenges subside as you transfom raw foods into daily meals.

Tip 1: Pack ’em into smoothies.

It’s the easiest and quickest way! Choose a sweeter recipe in the morning and a savoury one for later in the day, gather the ingredients, then heap away. Berries, cacao, flax, sesame, dates, chia, orange, and a couple of scoops of superfoods is how I start many of my days. Chocolate shake for breakfast, anyone?

An evening recipe might be your favourite soup and salad ingredients. Kale, dandelion, spinach, tomato, celery, lime, carrot and cucumber are some of mine, you can add garlic, spices, and lemon too!

Be adventurous, creative, and most of all, while the blender is making all that noise, dream of what you can do to help others walk in tandem with the precious earth that provides us with life, and the raw-food instilled peace that lies beneath it all.

What I consumed today:

Quinoa, lentils, and kale with coconut oil and sea salt

Fresh raw dill dip from the market spread onto raw pizza crackers

Messy melting Chocolate in the sun (made of carob, cacao and coconut oil)

Warmth from sun-infused soil during a barefoot walk break from the computer

1 Orange

Giant green smoothie with dandelion, collards, spinach, kale, apple, lemon

Lots of sunshine and water

Mama Earth energy from a tree I napped with after a long zig-zagged off-the-trail run : )

Celery with avocado and salsa

Plenty of water, sea vegetables and 2 drops of oregano oil under the tongue