Vol. 2, Issue 25: September 4, 2008

Notes from the Diva

Well, what a week! It definitely hasn’t been your average, run-of-the-mill week in Divaland. Getting the “Dream Team” together in Montreal for a visit with “Dr.T” of Ecopolitan.com was marvelous! We all got our big, ugly, potentially-pre-cancerous moles removed!  (You can read more about that here!)

We also got the chance to share stories and visions for our businesses, and our intentions for making the world a better place to be, and we’re excited to announce that there is now officially a Doctor in the House! Dr. T will be coming a very big part of what we do around here! Stay tuned!

“Viva La Revolution!!”

Our commitment to supporting your health and well-being has never been stronger. If you haven’t read this article, or heard this teleseminar that’s kicking off a revolution, you can click here now!

This weekend, the Diva Dream Team are off for hugs and kisses with all the other Raw Revolutionaries who will be hanging out in Ottawa at the Simply Raw festival! We’ll take pictures and keep you posted on the blog!

You can check out the pictures of our last weekend together, here!

In this Issue:

A List of Questions You should Ask Your Raw Food Guru
How To Handle Cooked Food Cravings
Last Chance to sign up for the BES in 2008!! Sign up NOW!
They're Back!! Our Gorgeous Green Smoothie Jugs are Back and Better Than Ever!

Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years are Rolling Out!

Don’t be caught behind the buffet table! Join us for the last session of the

Body Enlightenment System

for this year, and get yourself in gear BEFORE the holidays hit!

SIGN UP NOW!

*Special Holiday Menu planners included!*

Juicy Treats

T’s Tahini Treat
By Dr. T of Ecopolitan.com

Just before Dr. T was swept away in a taxi to head to the airport, he whipped up a scrumptiously delicious tahini treat of raw, organic honey (though he would have preferred date paste) and raw, organic tahini! Two parts tahini and 1 part honey (or to taste) whipped in a bowl made for some perfectly, finger-dipping sweet treats!

It’s become the latest, greatest “candy” at Tera’s house and the kids LOVE IT!

Here, here to Halva! “Hip! Hip! HooRAW!!”

Halva might cut the mustard for sweet treats at home, but if you have a hot date or fussy relative to impress, then you’ll need to pull out the cheesecake!

Have Your Cake And Eat It, Too!

Deprivation is SO “Yesterday!”

The Doctor’s Orders

We welcome to the Diva Dream team, Dr. Adiel Tel-Oren of Ecopolitan.Com. We will be featuring a lot more of Dr. T. and even getting him to answer some of your more specific medically-related questions in issues of Health in High Heals.

To start the party, Dr. T. is sharing the 7 Mistakes that Most Raw Foodists make when trying to implement a healthy, raw diet:

Mistake #7 - Too much trail mix!

Many raw foodists totally overdo it snacking on an excessive amount of fatty nuts and seeds in the form of trail mix! This contributes to budding raw foodists gorging themselves on an excessive amount of fat, and not getting enough variety in their diet, due to sticking to the same foods daily.

A definite No-no according to the doctor!

3 Tablespoons of nuts and seeds per day is perfect, and Dr. T. says you really should consume these WITH other fruits and vegetables. A side note for all you food combiners, the Doctor said, “Don’t worry about it!” as he sprinkled some sunflower seeds on my blended pineapple drink!

If you want to hear the other 6 mistakes most Raw Foodists Make, you can listen to his quick teleseminar here!

**Stay tuned next week for a MAJOR announcement about how The Raw Divas and Dr. T will be exposing THE TRUTH ABOUT YOUR FOOD!”

You Asked...
What To Do When You’ve Got The Cooked Food Blues

We recently received this question from Alex, and we loved it, so we had 3 members of our team respond with their suggestions and support and here’s what they had to say:

“Hi! it's been so hard for me to stay raw! I work as the only chef at a restaurant and I love the food! I take a smoothie or something but after that I'm still tempted.... Do you have any advice as to what I could do?

Thank you so much for your time!!! It really means alot to have support!

Love and blessings,
Alex :-)

Thoughts and Support from Shannon “Ohhh, what a sweet question- you can just feel the heart in it and hey, we have all BEEN THERE and can relate... I think many of us who gravitate to the raw foods movement love and enjoy food.  I am a real 'foodie' myself and have found myself in a similar position when I worked at a short stint in catering.  Food was everywhere and it was all so gourmet and so especially tempting to me because I knew I wouldn't make it at home.  Here is the trick: Don't let yourself get hungry! I can't stress this enough, Alex.  You are on the right track by 'filling up with a smoothie' ahead of time- but that clearly isn't enough for the long haul of an 8 or 10 hour shift as you have found out.  So, bring more smoothie to work with you.  Bring puddings, soups, trail mixes with mulberries and hempseeds and bee pollen.  Bring a tasty raw dip with some crunchy veggies all washed and nicely cut up ready to go.  Perhaps treat yourself every work day to an exotic fruit that you may not normally buy due to budget restraints, but will now as extra incentive.  And when you simply MUST have something, go ahead and HAVE IT!  I truly believe we are all after HEALTH not slavery to our beloved raw regime, and 'A LITTLE OF WHAT YOU FANCY' can do you good in these extreme moments when not giving into the temptation would actually be more stressful on your system.  This path is a really loving and honoring one, so trust yourself, go with what truly feels good and right to you and remember, it isn't what you do occasionally that really matters, so develop little disciplines regularly and when you splurge a little here or there, RELAX and ENJOY IT!!!! (BTW, I have found this REALLY WORKS over the long run, and I don't even need or want to anymore- but at the beginning, this was the only strategy that gave me any peace!!!! LOL) Let us know how it goes, sweetie-pea! xo Shannon Leone

From Amy With Love Don't go to work hungry Take lots of prepared raw stuff with you (chopped up fruit or veggies, specially made tidbits) Try mixing it up with gourmet raw treats (just watch you don't go off the deep end with nuts, fats, sweets) Indulge now and then if you can handle it (meaning, why not have a bit of this or that now and then, without worrying about it - assuming this wouldn't send you into a raw/cooked roller coaster, or cause you issues with cravings, etc).  One way to help avoid a nibble here and there, turning into a cooked food habit, would be to reserve one shift per week for a small indulgence and leave it at that. If you really want to avoid the temptations all together, make up a personal mantra for why you want to be raw... perhaps "a moment on the lips, forever on the hips", or "it might seem like a good idea right now, but it isn't worth the guilt or my health"... something that resonates with why being raw is important to you. One day at a time.  Promise yourself that just for today, you're not going to succumb to temptations.  Don't worry about any other day or week or month or year.  Just for today. Make yourself a deal... meaning, if I make it through today, I'll put $10 aside and at the end of the week I'll succumb to a temptation that isn't food related (it would only take 4-6 weeks like that before you could buy your first pair of Monolo's)! xo Amy

From Our In-House Chef, Angela Hi Alex, I live with cooked food all around me daily. I am also a chef, but fortunately for me, I do not work in a restaurant anymore. Here's what I would do: There are many raw versions of cooked food. Have you tried making pasta marinara? I would be happy to send you an easy recipe! If you like Mexican food, you can make easy tostadas in 5 minutes with some cabbage leaves shaped into a bowl, chopped tomatoes, guacamole, salsa, cheddar cheese and sour cream, I can send you the recipe for this too, if you like? The idea is to have as many things that resemble the cooked world that you are in, that way you are no longer tempted because you are satisfied. When you first try the raw thing, you get hungry - sometimes REALLY HUNGRY, and the trick is to have snacks; fruits cut up, veggies with a nice dip, even some nuts or your own trail mix.  Hang in there! I went raw over 8 1/2 years ago and I am still raw and still living with cooked food all around me. Blessings to you, Angela :-)

You don’t have to white-knuckle it, anymore!

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5 Questions to Ask Your Raw Food Guru
(If You can Get Through Their Customer Service Barricade To Ask Them)
by Tera Warner

Do you believe everything you read in the newspaper and see on TV?

Do you believe that all the supermodels in Cosmopolitan really look that way?

We know by now that people are distorting truth for their own personal agenda, and if you thought that the Natural Health movement was an exception, THINK AGAIN!

Chances are good you already know a thing or two about “Natural Health” and alternative, eco-conscious living. But what if some of the biggest names in this movement were no better off than 24 hour news stations for filtering and slanting their data to boost profits?

After our most recent interview with Dr. T., it became clear that we have some work to do around here. On a recent blog post, we said that this is the start of a revolution and we weren’t kidding.

What you will see at The Raw Divas over the next few weeks, will be unlike anything you have ever seen before. We are starting a campaign to get to the bottom of things.

We know it might get ugly.

We understand that we might make a few enemies along the way.

However, where would we be now if Martin Luther King hadn’t had the courage to speak up and speak out against a few things? I shudder to think about it.

But don’t believe us, either!

We strongly encourage you to form your own opinions about things, but start by asking a few questions to the preacher on the pulpits you’ve been hanging around.

Go ahead and track down the customer service email for your guru, and send in a couple of these doozies:

What foods/drinks do eat that you are NOT telling people about?

Sounds simple enough, but there are certain people preaching raw food without practicing it themselves. Not even a little bit. If we told you who these people were, it would definitely shock and surprise you, but we’re not here to drag anyone’s name through the mud.

Just ask the right questions and find out for yourself. What’s an average week’s food like for your guru?

People make assumptions about the habits and lifestyle of the authors and “gurus” in the world, but they’re not asking the most basic questions.

I dare you! Ask your guru, and if you can get through the barricade of customer service, then you’re already in better hands.  Of course there are other questions you can ask too, like:

What health issues do YOU suffer from?

How’s your digestion? Gas? Skin? Emotional stability? Strength? Energy? Weight?

It’s very easy for people to smile in front of a camera, but if behind the scenes things are falling apart, they haven’t pooped for 2 weeks, or they have gas like nobody’s business, then something is VERY wrong.

So many of the people who are teaching and preaching about the raw food diet have bodies that are clearly in a state of unbalance themselves. I’m not saying we should all be perfect, I’m just saying, “Say it like it is!”

Be willing to look further to find the solutions and admit that things are NOT working out as well as they could for you!

“Why are you doing this, Tera?”

Blame it on my hair, if you want to. I’m not denying that I have a passionate, firey little temper sometimes, but I mean no malice. This hasn’t been written to piss people off, but rather to raise the bar on what is needed and wanted from those who dare to take the stage as educators in the name of “natural health”.

It’s very easy for someone to stand up and call themselves an authority because they know how to run a blender, but the fact is, there’s an extraordinary amount of misinformation and manipulation going on in the name of “Natural Health” and “Raw food” and frankly, I find that unethical. Lives are on the line and “natural health” isn’t a safety zone anymore.

Maybe if we started putting a bit of truth on the table, some of the dissention in the raw food movement would resolve?

But then again, 24 hour news shows still get the ratings and people still read The National Enquirer. All I know is that I’m cheering for truth and the highest expectations possible for human health, happiness, understanding and thriving life on earth.

Be your own guru!
Ask questions and persist until you get your answers.
You deserve to know THE TRUTH!
Love,

Tera
p.s.
Watch next week as we reveal our biggest project EVER and how if you’re on board now, you can be a part of this for FREE!

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