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Vol. 2, Issue 11: May 15, 2008 From the Desk of the Divas
This week has been a full-blown diva dive into GREEN LIVING and we’re really excited about it. If you’re in the Montreal area, watch out because Tera’s been foraging and your back yard might be next!! Amy is currently in New Jersey and on the lookout for a local wild edible class, a good organic delivery or CSA, and local farmer’s markets. If you’ve got your ear to the organic ground in Central New Jersey, drop her a line! Last week, she ventured forth to the Skillman raw food meetup and met some interesting people at all stages of raw interest, but it won’t stop there... stay tuned! In other live event developments, Tera’s become the guest educator at a super trendy and new, entirely organic health food store called, “C’est La Vie”, where she’ll be offering community classes on raw food and healthy living every month!! If you’re in the Montreal area, this is a great opportunity for us to make some diva connections and get together for a green smoothie or a wheatgrass juice! WHAT?? Did we just say wheatgrass juice?? Hey, stranger things have happened and much to Amy’s glee, Tera is opening her eyes wider and wider to the green possibilities out there! Enjoy this week’s articles and take a moment to listen to this call if you haven’t had the chance yet! You’ll never look at your neighbor’s front yard the same way again! Earthy green hugs and sprouty kisses, Tera and Amy
Good News for Green Smoothie Goddesses everywhere
We’ve now adjusted our program so you can sign up any day to take on the Green Smoothie Queen’s 3 Day Challenge yourself!
Juicy Diva Treats: Ode to Ann, Green Juice
Green juices are an amazing way to super charge our diets with easily assimilated nutrients. Theoretically, the result being that your body will absorb the maximum amount it can from a green juice, because its resources aren't being taxed by dealing with digesting a lot of fibre and trying to break down the tough cellular structure of greens. While eating plenty of greens is also an amazing thing to do for your body, and fibre is super-important, most people don't chew their salads well enough to receive the full benefits.
If you want to learn more about a green diet, green juices, sprouting, and Ann Wigmore - the Mother of Raw Foods, we invite you to check out the CHI Home Study Program, created by Jim Carey. This program includes DVD recordings of Ann Wigmore teaching her diet, recipes galore, and instructions and guidance on all aspects of a well balanced raw food diet at a fraction of the price of a raw food retreat or in-person course. Jim also generously offers a lot of free videos and publications on his site, so it is definitely worth checking out!
If you haven't signed up for our juicy Raw Mom’s Tid Bits, what are you waiting for? Sign up for your Tid Bits now! They're Free!
Pamper Yourself! Beauty Tips for Healthy, Younger Looking Skin Extravagant Moisturizing Body Crème
Shea Butter Shea Butter is a fatty extract from the seed of the Shea or karite tree. Shea Butter is great for the skin because of its high content of non-saponified fatty acids (comprised mostly of stearic and oleic acids.) These fatty acids are indispensable for moisturizing and retaining the elasticity of the skin, by making up for lipid deficiencies in the epidermal cells. Virgin Organic Coconut Oil Virgin coconut oil is cold-pressed immediately upon opening of the coconut. The oil is extracted before the fermentation process sets in. Virgin coconut oil is not refined bleached or deodorized, it retains pure and natural coconut components, including the medium chain fatty acids and the 50% lauric acid now recognized as highly beneficial to health. . Coconut oil is absorbed into the skin and into the cell structure of the connective tissues, limiting the damage excessive sun exposure can cause. It will not only bring temporary relief to the skin, but it will aid in healing and repairing the skin. Neroli Essential Oil Neroli oil (Citrus aurantium var. amara) is produced from the flowers of several citrus species. The oil obtained from bitter orange is called neroli bigarade oil or orange flower oil. Neroli essential oil is similar in scent to bergamot produced from the blossom of the bitter orange tree (Citrus aurantium var. amara or Bigaradia). The blossoms are gathered, usually by hand, in late April to early May. The oil is obtained from the freshly picked flowers of C. aurantium, subspecies, amara by steam distillation.
Enjoy!
The Raw Divas are YOUR Passport to Information, Inspiration, and Guidance from Raw Food Gurus, Best Selling Authors, and Experts from ALL Walks of Life
What are you waiting for?
Where to find our divas! Tera has become a regular writer for the Canadian Homeschooling Magazine, Homeschool Horizons. You can watch for her healthy tips and tricks for families in this magazine! Get Fresh! If you’re not yet a subscriber to Get Fresh! magazine, then make sure you subscribe before the next issue, because Tera’s got a super-inspiring, coming out of the closet article on eating disorders and emotional eating. Also, as mentioned, you can get in touch with “C’est la Vie” health food store in Montreal to get a schedule of Tera’s upcoming community classes.
Little Green Corner: COMPOSTING 101
So I decided to do some research to get a better understanding of what composting was all about. There are so many facets to composting and I could probably write a book on the subject so I am going to stick to the basics. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that yard trimmings and food residuals together constitute 23 percent of the U.S. waste stream. If you’re looking to green your lifestyle, one of the best things you can do is limit the amount of organic waste your put in trash by composting. Compost in simpler terms, is anything that once grew in the ground or came from the ground. Compost by definition is decomposed organic material with a content called humus that is rich, dark, crumbly, and earthy smelling. By not composting our kitchen scraps, they go into the garbage and from there they make their way to the local landfills by way of our garbage companies. As the land is used to bury all our garbage, much of it being recyclable, we take up space that could be used for agriculture or to replant our rapidly disappearing forests. As that garbage sits there and rots, chemicals are released into the atmosphere and seeps into the ground where it makes its way into our water. Off gassing of methane generated by decaying organic wastes (methane is a greenhouse gas many times more potent than carbon dioxide, and can itself be a danger to inhabitants of an area) are very toxic to our environment, especially when these toxic chemical leach into our groundwater which then pollute our nearby lakes and streams. There are several types of composting bins to suit your needs:
Portable bins are similar to holding bins however, they can be moved and taken apart and now some models are made with stainless steel interiors and can fit under the kitchen counter.
Static bins are great if you don't mind turning your compost pile manually, a stationary compost bin is the simplest solution, and static bins cost less than compost tumblers. In most cases, they can also hold more organic waste than other types. Static compost bins take about one month to create compost Tumbling compost bins make turning your compost pile easier. Instead of manually turning the pile with a pitchfork or shovel, tumbling compost bins use a crank or gears. However, these types of compost bins don't usually hold as much organic waste, and are more expensive per cubic-foot of capacity. The following is a list of items that can and cannot be composted: Materials to Include Materials to Exclude I hope the next time you make a yummy green smoothie with organic bananas or other fruits and vegetables that have a peel or skin, you think twice about throwing away your food scraps. I believe composting is a positive contribution to the circle of life. NOTE: Finished compost can be applied as a natural fertilizer to lawns and gardens to help condition the soil and replenish nutrients.
The youngest raw diva to be joining our community will be arriving around the 6th of July, but before that we’ve got some celebrating to do! If you have an inspiring story about childbirth, some family wisdom your mom passed down to you, or just some practical tips on 2nd children to pass on to Amy, then we would LOVE to have you share it with us before X of June when we’ll get together on a call with Amy for an online celebration of life in honor of the newest raw diva joining the team. Let’s get in some good giggles to get Amy’s abdominal muscles all ready for the workout ahead! If you’d like to participate and be a part of this event, then send a message to Tera and she’ll let you know how it’s going to work!
Contact us to put your great ideas here!
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‘Tis the season to revel in the earthy smells and alkaline bliss of fresh, organic, and wild GREENS! Just when we thought life couldn’t get better, people like 
Coming from a fruit-based background, you have probably heard Tera mention her hygenic view of juices as something unnecessary in a raw food diet, mainly because of the removal of the fibre inherent to juicing. While I would wholly agree with her in regards to juicing fruits (Ann Wigmore came to believe that the only fruit that should be used for juicing, is the wonderfully alkalinizing watermelon, which should be juiced rind and all), juicing greens is a whole different ball of wax!
As for the fibre question... I've never been too concerned about raw foodists getting enough fibre. As long as you're eating a variety of greens, vegetables, and fruits (sweet and non-sweet), you should be getting plenty of fibre in your diet. Adding green juices is an addition worth including to your diet
Raw Mom Tid Bits
4 oz shea butter
Have you ever thought about where our kitchen scraps travel to, once we’ve emptied the trash? Well I’ve been thinking a lot about this for a while since I wasn’t composting our family’s refuse. I guess I thought that composting was a daunting task and I wasn’t sure if I was up for the challenge or what I thought would be a challenge.
Holding bins are pretty low maintenance, and are a good choice for people that have limited space and live in a small dwelling such as an apartment. These units do not require turning, however the lack of aeration requires that you compost between 6 months to 2 years.
Special Invitation for Raw Moms and Raw Divas EVERYWHERE!