join me

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

Well you might not want to when you hear what I have in mind,
I have recently been moaning why men dont all look like real men...well I feel I should try harder to loose the weight xxx

so Join me if you want in trying to achieve a perfect bikini body in less than a year...

I intend to blog my raw emotions & food right from today and into my hot pants...I aim to do this by the time the weather changes in May and the sunny summer is back, so it's time to cover up like a caterpillar for winter and emerge a butterfly

I am embarking on a number of Juice feasts, with real green juices a top priority I will try tomorrow just juicing for the day, I want to turn a day into a week into a month then eat lightly and lovingly quenching each craving and emotion with a fire of passion until the body arrives.....

For those who know me and realise what a mental task I am undertaking being the owner of a raw chocolate company and raw restaurant this is not going to be easy....but try I will

I am meeting a wonderful woman and true inspiration on Monday a woman who lives purely on greens, no fruit, nuts or stimulating things....her mind flies and body speak volumes....

So join me if you wish either supporting my own dream and watching me change or embark on your own transformation xxx

[Jax]

LOL I'll try and join you (depending on the injuries) although I'll be going for more of a tan kini body as I don't like bikinis even when I was skinnier than Kiera Knightly I didn't like them.

I much prefer them with a rashie and the bottoms, or the top and board shorts, to me that portrays athleticism which is far more healthier looking and therefore sexier IMO ;) Like these girls;
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v445/ShaunRydersBrainCell/Raw%20in%20UK/BicSurf06_Tara_win2.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v445/ShaunRydersBrainCell/Raw%20in%20UK/delarosa9168roxygc08kirstin-l.jpg

And Speedo's on men are out for me, even if you do look like Mark Foster in them ;) Kelly Slater has got it, looking good in a rashie and boardies;
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v445/ShaunRydersBrainCell/Raw%20in%20UK/slater.jpg

and without a rashie on, just the boardies;
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v445/ShaunRydersBrainCell/Raw%20in%20UK/1_slater_new-1.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v445/ShaunRydersBrainCell/Raw%20in%20UK/kelly_slater_photoshoot_-3642-1.jpg

All this leads me on nicely to my new thread I am planning on raw athletes ;)

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

Well today started very well, apples fresh from the garden juiced.....
Lunch on Sundays is always whats left from the market so I felt obliged not to waste......then it went a bit down hill we went to a local home ed get together and it was a shared meal, well I cut some apples picked some wild plums and gathered blackberries to share with the group, this was a brilliant cleansing meal right up to the huge slab of vegan (not even raw) chocolate cake that I then ate, setting off vast addictions in my head ultimately leading to my having a binge on breadsticks humous, and even a inch square of regualr bread.....
however on a plus note everytime I do go off track the longer I am raw the iller (is that a word?) I am and tomorrow I am off to meet Ms Torres a raw life coach so she should be able to inspire me back into the bikini or tankini as I to think the sportier body is better...
Just for the record and for the shame of it and being really honest I am 13.7st at 5.7 this is not brilliant I am not a rolly fatty but I reckon I carry 3+ stone extra, I've been raw for 2+ years and since losing a couple of stone in the very early days have not shifted an ounce on the gourmet raw, high nut high everything diet...
So dont let it kid you , you still need to work at it.
My excersise today was a not sluggish 3 (and a bit) mile bike ride
I havent fasted to none of the emotional stuff is leaking out yet only addictions today xxx
Tomorrow is a brand new brilliant day.

[sharonjones]

hi karen, sounds like a good positive start, we always need to begin with the mind first, lead with the mind and the rest will follow ;)

i look forward to reading your regular updates ;)

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

Well after a day (monday) spent completely dead from the head down except a lively rear end!, I think a strong bodily reaction from Sundays messy dining!
I did have a rawsome meeting with Rian Torres a raw life coach, teacher, and soon to be opening retreat just north of Winchester, spectacular building wouldn't mind any of the 12 bedrooms or 9 bathrooms myself....
Rian & I discussed transition from heavy processed Raw to lighter simpler raw, covering fasting and addictions. I was right I was inspired and it has helped me alot understand better what my body is trying to go through while my mind aims for the size 6!!! (LOL)
From my meeting I established I need to start ditching nuts....
For those devoted to my chocolatl it will still have the raw hand cracked fairtrade organic shipped not flown cashew nuts in it but I will try and create a seed based bar, have tried this before it was only met with limited sucess, but hey taste buds do change, I never thought I would not eat Maccy D's shakes & pureed cows.....wow things have changed

try this lovely seedshake from Miss Magics nice book
Hemp seeds 2 tblsp (I use half a cup aiming for cream rather than milk)
lucuma 2 tblsp
honey 1 tblsp
water 1 cup
maca 3 tsp

I do say this is not quite as the book says but I like this version more like a traditional milkshake xx

If anyone subscribes to the free web blog from renegade health, kevin Gianni & Ann-Marie discussed exactly what I just said about eliminating high end raw stuff, they have even dropped all dehydrated foods ....I love onion bread a bit too much for that one just yet, in todays episode, how amazing is that.
P.S scales seem to be stuck....am off for colonics soon so might kick start a few things there....
check out Barbra Perry for reasonable rates in Southampton, I like the price of the Spring Clean sounds very promising .....

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

Am booking Colonics this week, feel blocked...not there....in my head!!!
think it's all connected.....
Am enjoying my switch from high nuts to high seed content in my diet, feel a renewed bout of detoxing going on. Anyone had that, somewhere between a mild cold and drowsyness, used to think it was a cold, but know better now. A tweak here more greens bfore noon, no fats later in the day, voila the symptoms disappear...to think I used to eat a slice of toast or a crumpet as a comfort top up!!! how ill was I !!!!!
Anyone else in the female world noticed a lack of PMT or anyother feminine symptom since they went raw... I used to get awful cramps, now I barely know it's going on... would be interested to hear of other stuff like that ....:)

[Jax]

Anyone else in the female world noticed a lack of PMT or anyother feminine symptom since they went raw... I used to get awful cramps, now I barely know it's going on... would be interested to hear of other stuff like that ....:)
Funnily enough I was thinking about this after my last one.................I thought WOW that was a breeze for a change!!! :D I'm just not one of these all embracing of all things womanly women :o That's been the first one since having kids, that I could honestly say was really easy going and not an ounce of pain anywhere, so that's for like the last 22 years :eek:

And if this month's is that easy then I'll know it must be eating more raw that's doing it to that extent. They had got a bit easier and less painful last year when I cut out wheat and sugar for the candida thing, LOL and I thought that was great!

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

Woosh and it all happens at once, not a over dinner topic is colonics!!! lol
I really enjoyed it, not the strange bodily sensations but the knowledge that somethings are fixing in my body....I was born with a deformed atrophied left kidney that has caused no end of problems right up until I went raw, well the water cleanse (they can work out where in the colon the plaque and debris is coming from my the volume of water and related massage) tackled a tremendous amount of debris all from around the loop of colon round my left kidney.....
how amazing is that!
I was amazing to discover that I was of excellent working order, and my rantings of the last few months where most people who have been on the receiving end of a rant are aware that I believe that my body just will not accept a single morsel of cooked food without some kind of adverse reaction!!! So my bodily upsets have not been in my head.:p

I had my younger brothers over to stay on Sunday night and we had takeaway... they had pizza I had fake duck & pancakes (tofu, pankakes & hoisin) Well after 30 minutes of eating I was fighting the urge to not be sick, I hate being sick but also knowing that I would get the runs the other end if I wasn't! I wasn't sick and next day on the loo, so 9am I dug out the number for colonics was there for 11am that morning (runs had stopped by then, but I was feeling bloated, ill, tired, drained and not happy...you know the grumpy adgitated not happy!!!)
well an hour later I was really feeling better....:)

Have a question whats your favorite supplement or addition to your raw diet,:confused: mine is MSM
I take about 2 tablespoons every day, in water & love it, but not sure what it is doing for me lol......

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

One week after the colonic, something else is happening!!
my body is entering a massive detox and changes are happening xxx
I have been raw for ages, I was expecting like a lot do, to look just like a film star after a couple of months! well clearly that has not been the case, I have waded through the plethora if information, attended loads of raw events, lectures, talks, demos, courses, read every book I could find..literally saturated myself with information...this is useful when talking to new comers as answers tend to float out of my mouth when I most need them, I have also studied food, agriculture, agrochemicals, permaculture, biodynamics for around 18 years.... but it's really taken that long for me to put my own learnings into practice!!! & to think I actually get miffed if someone doesn't act on what I say!! I think thats due to my realisations that results really do happen, they just take time.
My changes this week are I dropped 2 pounds, anyone who sees me from my before raw (3 years ago) & now do comment. & the weight is still dropping, I have a massive mucus dump going on!! you know the thing runny nose but not a cold,
I have suddenly begun enjoying really strong green juices, something I always needed a apple to get through before, my feeling of needing food is diminishing, to the point where I am totally satisfied with a cucumber and a flax cracker! me the woman who was overjoyed when I first started raw as it green lighted my being able to eat vast bowls of dried fruit & nuts every day!! I think I actually might get in that bikini after all.

I am looking forward to going down through my clothes, like most women I have a wardrobe dating back years and covering most body sizes, while now it's looking great as suddenly I really think it will get a bit of use, before most of it becomes to big for me xxx
someone will love it all!

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

Sitting here just a few minutes after the last guest (friend) has left our first Pot luck, my brain is buzzing with joy & love.
I feel truly energised by the people who have passed through this home today. My confidence in the last week has rocketed and I'm not afraid to say no to cake, cookie, pasta whereas previous I was always (in the back of my mind) doubtful that I could beat cravings. I have a renewed love of green juices, and am loving David Wolfes Sun is Shining greens.
Also feeling the draw towards a Yoga swing! does anyone have one and do they find it useful....?
I have a weird feeling sometimes, I see something and instantly know that either I can do it or I will enjoy it! some examples are I "needed" a pair of roller blades a few years ago... and after many years of not skating I really found my rhythm !! another "need" was my trampoline...and I know if I went scuba diving I'd love that to...well I think the yoga swing is the same...having seen it I know it's for me xx
My body has stuck at 13st 6lb!!! not sure why it's refusing to abandon it's fat! I was admiring the glow of beauty & health that was wandering round our garden today and feel mmmm it will come off, just patience!

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

Facing the end of another week, really looking forward to this weeks pot luck, have themed it "whats green & growing in your garden"
have eaten most of our garden! we are moving the allotment to the garden so neither are hugly productive, must remember to dig some scozoneria for sunday lovey long sweet veg & some parsnips.
Well I did surprise myself this morning, got on the scales having convinced myself that I must ahve gained weight and behold the dial stopped at 13st 3lb amazingly from the beginning of the year I was 14st 4lb and 2 years ago 15st 4lb !!!! yep thats right it's taken 3 years to loose 2 stone...I know they say take it slow and it will stay off but thats mad....
Also if I so much as smell chips I gain 10lbs, my hubby used to think I was making it up a did my old Dr until I got weighted (pre raw diet)2 days on the trot and gained 10lbs!!!
Really I blame my 1 kidney....Kidneys process all the bodies waste and mine well is over taxed at the best of times.
Talking about taxing the body, if you drink filtered tap water how much pollutants are still getting through?
I have 2 house filters a brita and a plumbed in filtered fridge and sometimes I can still taste funny stuff.
With this in mind I have just ordered a gravity water filter, it makes rain/butt/stream/ infact any out door source potable....
So the natural MSM should be in there and we are switching to rain water as soon as the thing gets here. I really want to dig a well, our house sits on a bog and the water table is really high.
We once had a survey for an extension, guy dug a metre hole went away came back day later it was totally full...cost us £5k extra in footings to stop the extention sinking!!
So what have I done to start the weight dropping again....
I jest not...Stopped eating!!!
Well I only ever have filtered waters & green powder juices before 12 (if really hungry and apple from the garden so only if in season)
then gleaning nuggets of advice from Rian, I have a whopping meal from 1-3pm I sort of graze, might have a bit of cake or chocolate.
Then thats it, well maybe a green juice before bed, I'm loving cucumber & celery (1/2 cuc & 3 sticks championed)
I also really love watermelon & sun is shining mmmmm

so far this seems to be working, I am letting my body rest from food, something that in 34 years of never going really hungry is a bit of a novelty... I feel really great.
I was asked the other day, "what do you feel like on raw?"
honestly I said, "I didn't know I was ill until I got better" now this sounds strange and I could see in her face that she was thinking but I'm not ill....maybe it's all a lie and I am really quite ill!!!

How many people are waddling through life oblivious that they are really quite unwell????

& spots why do they keep appearing!! I look around me at the general population and I dont see as many as I get....well maybe I'm exaggerating I only have 2, but still I was hoping for tonya zavastas pure glow....
still hunting that one....
any ideas????

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

Well scales have been on the move again...now 12st 13lb !!
settled into a pain free one meal a day
around 2-4 i eat a whopping salad with a cup of seeds or avocado, around the wholeday I have green juices & powder juices.
Amazingly we are drinking rain water and this seemsto be "filling"in it's own way!
feel fantastic & the spots are going!! so doing something right xx

[Jax]

I think you've looked a lot better since your colonic................ha ha but it's still not going to convince me to do it :hand:

And your rainwater is luverly http://www.rawinuk.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

[haverawcake]

It sounds like you are doing great Karen. I would love to have a colonic - although my husband thinks the whole idea of me paying to go and have a 'bottom wash' as he calls it absolutely hilarious. Actually, the only thing that puts me off is the cost. I am sure I will do it one day. Karen - I did not know you did home ed. - we do too - how old are you little ones? Mine are 2 and 5 so quite little. How is home ed in Southampton? We have quite a big group in Cambridge. I used to live in Southampton in the days when I was an art teacher many moons ago it seems. I would like to take a trip to see old friends with the kids sometime so we will have to plan a visit on a Saturday so we can visit your stall and try your lovely food. Of course it would be a great opportunity to meet all you raw food people too. I'd love to come for the Etcetera think soon but it is a long way to travel with the kids just for a weekend.

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

Hi,
Glad you picked out the home edding, my little chap will be 4 in November, we always knew we were going to home ed even before being pregnant!
If passing pop by the stall, or check out the dates for the pot lucks and pop in there for a great meal xx
love Karen x

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

Forgot to mention the home ed scene in southampton is great, headed by seeds a well organized group of mums dedicated to all things home ed.
We, probably like you get to enjoy trips & social events and regular meet ups.
A great group xx

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

Well I have had a lovely foody week, starting Sunday with a massive pot luck and boy did I eat!!!
then Monday well I had 2 meals!! had to, would have been rude not to have eaten the leftovers!!
Tuesday I began experimenting for the next pot luck, theme is wild foods. So in went the food!!!
Wed had a dehydrated meal at lunch time, something i've not done for a little while. Found the whole thing knackered me, having eaten lightly for over 3 weeks this week has been tough on the tummy...
Thurs, now I new I was in for a treat at the chocolate birthday party and Ruth didn't let my tummy down. However I now feel like a raw food bomb is going off in side me!!! LOL
totally blissed out on cacao!!
Friday again it would have been rude not to eat the cake I bought home cause I couldn't finish it yesterday!! did have a light spiralized lunch before embarking on the cacao left overs. To be fair only managed to eat one truffle, one bit of cake & a left over wedge of cake and the chocolate falafel balls!!!

need sleep to get over but alas tonight is a busy evening off to a Barcelona Street fair!

need I mention that the scales have refused to move all week!!!

did gather some seabuckthorn with Ruth and having juiced it all today am looking forward to a Ray Mears experiment with it!!!

xxxx

[Ruth]

Hi you! Regarding your mission to wear hot pants...yes, I will join you whenever we both get the confidence simultaneously! I actually own some...terrifically out of characture as that seems....and have an aim of my own to rollerboot (yeh, got some of those too) along Bournemouth prom wearing my tiny navy pants and bra top. Is that something you would like to join me in aiming towards? I think it would be hilarious. I haven't roller-booted since I was 15: what about you?!!

I know you can loose weight Karen; but please don't think that you are not already beautiful. If you never lost a pound you would still be stunning with the most amazing eyes ever.

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

I own hot pants!!!

I love roller blading...have a really good pair....

have vision now of me & you on the promenade....I will be doing that next year!!

I'm back to my comfortable one meal a day and nothing after about 5pm. today I sampled what was left from Jax sample of Brownie from Haverawcakeandeatit.....really nice...please post recipe xxxx


I juice all morning & if I get peckish in the evening I juice again, once I am really within my comfort size about 3 stone less than now I may look at eating another snack type meal.
But my theory is that....
If you eat anything your body has to work at digesting, it uses calories for that alone, once food is in a digestable format i.e juice, the body then can supply calories to the rest of itself.
So eating junk or extra calories serves no purpose.

Any thought on that one???

[haverawcake]

This forum is really getting fun. I own a pair of red velvet hot pants from my university days. I must confess I have not worn them for many years but I keep them as they hold special memories for me. I would wear them if I had an occasion to do so but with 2 little children, dressing up in hot pants probably isn't my first priority.
Karen - you can lose weight - I am sure of it. Both myself and my husband lost a lot of weight when turning raw and I think cutting down on the cake and chocolate can really help. I have no been on the scales lately but since I've been creating my perfect Brownie recipe a lot of tasting has been going on! Raw cakes are a bit too yummy or dieting and it must be hard for you running a raw food business which involves cakes and chocolates.
Anyway, I would love to come to Southampton sometime to meet you all and I have a friend there I have been promising to visit, as well as wanting to show the kids the New Forest, so maybe we should aim for a raw Hotpants party when we finally make it there.

[Jax]

Hm I never got into hotpants I have to say, but I do own a tiny weeny leather miniskirt that I used to wear in my punk days..................I would say I'd be lucky to get it on one thigh these days tho :pout::fear::575:

[Ruth]

What colour hot pants? I want to visualise this properly! I can't wait to go roller-blading with you!

All I can say about your plan to loose weight is that it is exactly what I would do if I wanted to lose pounds. When I was 18 I was told to lose a stone by my doctor at the time. Even though I am small, an extra stone was contributing to health problems then. The key for me was finding a routine and sticking to it. After I worked out what suited me mentally and physically it was actually easy, and I would never fear having to loose weight again if it became necessary, because by trial and error I found what worked for my body and was able to stick to it.

We are so lucky because raw foods are so delicious that you can never feel deprived eating a simple salad or juice (if they're fresh) Also the longer you are raw the less food you need to experience a wealth of taste, texture and sensation which contributes marvellously to the feeling of abundance in the diet.

I am sure that you will be as successful and knowledgeable through your weight loss campaign as you are about gourmet food and foraging. It will be another string to your bow.

[Ruth]

Oh PLEASE can we have a red and raw hot pants pot-luck in the spring? Maybe on a beach somewhere??? Annette, you would come wouldn't you?

[haverawcake]

Of course I would come. I'll have to have a look through the bottom of my drawers for the hot pants and post a pic - hope I can find them.

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

My Hot pants are a mass of vertical stripes and size 10!!!!
I am amazed by the fact that while in a second hand clothes shop today there was a beautiful Karen Millen Size 12 jacket.... I actually got my arms down the sleves.....not much movement, like say I couldn't pick my nose or anything....but hey it went on!!!!
I settled for a size 14 jacket with Lycra.....and am happy not to wear anything other than a vest underneath as with me in the jacket to it's a bit of a squeeze!!!

I own a fantastic wardrobe in all sizes of clothes all starting at 14 and getting smaller....

I reckon by christmas I should be able to wear my favorite bright ORANGE shirt!!! Size 12 with no lycra!!!!

I think I to had a very mild cold for a couple of days, what I thought was a day detox turned into a sneezing couple of days!!

And a madly weird craving that I gave into....
edeme beans and boiled beetroot!?!?!?!
whats that about!

First cooked foor for a very long time...triggered a late night chocolate binge of two bars...a rocky road followed by the blonde with camu camu, seabuckthorn & bilberry mmmmmm

Not going to weigh my self until Friday this week, not being very fair to myself, eating loads then getting depressed because I haven't lost a pound!!

Had a mad green juice (blend) totally inspired by Ani today...
2 bananas
1 Papaya
2 massive cups of chopped up
garden (very strong) lettuce, kale & cabbage!

Who says raw is boring......!

Nobody in the cooked (us in pre raw days) would believe some of the combo's we really do find lovely!

on the plus side with the hot pants, at least the stripes are a flattering vertical pointing down to my feet, that I hope by then will be in full view xxx

I do have a plan & system to loose weight, wire my jaws!

my Dad helpfully says the problem is that my mouth is bigger than the exit!! #LOL:help:

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

I promised I would not weigh myself until Friday...well today the scales stopped their bobbing at 13st dead!!
I reckon after 3 weeks of light eating then 2 weeks of not so light, a net weight loss of over half a stone (and if i count from the start of the year more than a stone) it's not all to bad!

Have spent some days madly scouring our fields for tasty goodies to eat on Sunday....managed to convince James that walking in cow filled fields is a great hobby, he is convinced they are Deer, and insists on geting as close as possible while kissing, like when you attract a cat!! his aim is of course to bring one home as a pet!!
Did find some rather large puffballs and field mushroom, sadly I ate them for lunch....seemed a shame not to try them, Dave & me ate all of them...sorry!
Did also find a whopping clump of Comfrey, sadly also ate those to!!
Still after market tomorrow I will go out again, the fields are actually loaded with food, plaintain, comfrey, daisy, thistle, haws, rosehips, mushrooms.
It just takes a little time to wander and collect, I really want to get into the habit of wild foods all the time.
I have been wild fooding since I ran out of money when I lived in Cornwall 16 years ago, I learnt then that a gentle walk & keen eye yeilds far better food than any supermarket.
My only sadness is that James doesn't want to spend 3 hours staring at hedges!!
Off now, packing the food up for tomorrows market, It's that time of year again when flavours like Winters Cherry make an apperance!!!
& this weeks triple chocolate cake looks so good, there might be slightly less for sale than there should be xxx

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

I have plodded through life with complete selfishness, not really connecting with anybody or anything until recently....well in the last 10 years I found love, real true love not just simple gut stuff.
I (and him) forgot our 9 year wedding anniversary....well life just seems so beautiful we forgot an extra special day.....only to have me spoil things the next day by threatening divorce!!!! whats that all about...no it wasn't pmt....no, I didn't eat the wrong anything.....
It was sparked by a childhood memory of my dad shouting at me....Dave had just shouted at our little man!!
my instant reaction was disconnect...run...like I have done all my life.
Don't face the problem, this brings me back to my connections....
I connected with Dave within minutes of meeting him (i connect with men beter than women) and we haven't been apart since, within weeks of meeting he asked me to marry him and once our divorces were through we flew to Sri Lanka for a beach wedding...lovely...OK all blissed out...
We then did the usual stuff.....started a business...made heaps of money...lived a high roller...big spending life....jetted round the world, taking in the great wall of China, skiing in Whistler, Wine trips to south of France, staying days at a time at the Waterside & Fat Duck spending I jest not £900 on one meal in a 5 star place in Whistler with Kobi beef, oysters, V.expensive champagne.
Buying fast cars and indulging my motorcycling love..even faster bikes.
Then we had our baby.
I, for the first time in my life now loved 2 people.
We went bankrupt...the cars went....holidays stopped....luxury meals ceased....suddenly we both connected for the first time with our planet...
we really felt that we could not live as we had done for so many years, we made the conscience decision to let go...
letting go of all material things (well I kept my origonal art) our lives suddenly changed...
I found Raw foods, dragging Dave along behind me.
I found a connected feeling with so much, I would happily just sit & love a field or the sea. Holding my little mans hand and watching the clouds in the sky seems all that matters.
Money has become something that neither of us want anymore, of course we have to meet usual stuff....but beyond that...no
For the first time I have felt a real genuine connection with people...yes, I have seen "the secret" & "conversations with God" loved them both and feel the universe weave it's magic.
I feel at some weird level that I have "met" my spiritual other half, I don't really know how to describe her, she is like a companion that while I was having a odd time in life she was sleeping, now awake her life is completely tangled in mine. I jest not, I have a best & most valued friend who when we plan something we make the same stuff, same time, same ingredients, love the same flavours, appreciate & love the same environment...doing all that having never spoken until the event or we meet up!!!
Today at pot luck we made conscience choices to make certain dishes, I was overtaken at one point to make nettle pesto, I refused concentrating instead on gathered foods, knowing that the cold we both had, had prevented her from getting out to the forest to gather these particular foods....
When she came to pot luck she bought the nettle pesto, I have never eaten it before but it was exactly as I imagined it would be...
I am dead chuffed to find that in life we can be blessed with so many things and I am blessed with the most amazing friends and group of (yes I am now gushing with love) people.
Not all are quite as ready to swoon, but I hold my head high with great love & pride that I gladly banish all my life before and will hold on to this new raw life and all it brings with it xxxx

[sharonjones]

what a beautiful post karen! it warms my heart to know that others feel what i feel everyday now.

hubby and i couldnt sleep last night, we went for a 2 hour walk together talking philosophy and our life together.
we found each other last year and got married in january.

money doesnt matter and yet we are weaving and creating our future which we know will manifest more than we could dream of.

i love my life.

[Ruth]

Life tastes sweet...literally.

The gratitude for finding such beautiful mirrors in our friends is immense... to be over-powering to our little egos.

We have everything in nature; and in each other.

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

I love Lepe beach, even more so this time of year. In the middle of summer ai can't usually stand it...you can picture the scene...a mass of people all queing for the toilet/cafe/icecreambooth/car park pay machine/best seats/life guards!! ok not the last one... loads of non AP kids all screaming & being ignored by mum/dad/auntie/granny until they go purple from crying!! no.. not my cuppa. However in the cooler months most people stay away, shuning the beautiful views, near empty play park...well except today when I jest not a few of the mums were rather Lackadaisical about there donut & ciggarette habits leaving the air blue with words & smoke!
And lucky for me there doesn't seem to be any wild forragers so the garden is mostly mine to cherry pick from....well not any more, for a while now me & Ruth have been planning to go forraging so I can show her a few edibles...Lepe did not dissapoint,
We snacked from the moment we got there, finding Sea Beet, Sea Kale on it's last summer legs but still tasty, my personal favorite Samphire, sea purslane & some other round leaf that tasted ok?
Me & James also ate some fresh looking Kelp that was in one piece, he ate about 2 feet! It's lovely taking him as he randomly picks leaves and asks if he can eat them, if I say yes he's so chuffed!
It was great with Ruth as her pallete is very rawsome and loves greens, this is great because so many greens that are in the shops are sweet and not at all bitter.
Having read quite alot of books by Boutenko's and Zavasta it is really clear that our greens should be bitter, we should be able to eat this type of food and thrive on it...
I do & love it, I'll be back on the beach getting a good bagful soon...
only sad point is that I can't walk there and my brain is fighting the fuel costs & environmental impact of driving there!!!
Is it less to do this often than it is to go near a supermarket & buy veg from half way round the world?

I must use this moment to also confess I ate a tiny bit of normal cake yesterday!!! what was that about!!!
Was it a childhood throw back of not wanting to see something wasted? I've never eaten a roast like that!
or was some deep ailment trying to get out because it has triggered a huge candidia (thrush) bout, I am not at all comfortable inside and am craving seaweed, not saited by the kelp today, will have to eat a massive bowl for lunch tomorrow...
Can we, as we detox and begin to release toxins (as I think my body is trying to do) crave foods we really should not have?
I read somewhere that the severity of the craving matches the severity of the illness.
My candidia used to be horrible, the craving was pretty bad, I only ate a tiny piece but probably 3 teaspoons of sugar! the overgrowth (or memory & symptoms) are pretty severe right now!!!

I am praying that I can kill this once & for all....cravings...illness....history...everything! !!

any ideas??????:mad::help:

[Ruth]

Dear Karen,

Tell me what you want from the beach and I'll bring some to the market every week. I normally walk somewhere daily so just let me know. I'll swap it for something you've foraged for near your place!

Those greens!!! yes I love bitter leaves and will need to gather more now I know where the real food is to be found! I could eat just these forever! The sea beetroot was lovely last night with nettle pesto (strong meal, my goodness!) and kept its' structure really well in the fridge..didn't wilt or anything. Totally superior to shop-bought leaves. Thanks for showing me x

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

What is it with my body, stress & food...will I ever learn...todays stressed day ended with eating a slice of Pizza...then another....mm..urmm..then another!!! now after downing a near boiling ginger tea in a bid to stave off being sick I can actually think straight!!!!
is it that the body acidifies when stressed therefor begings to cell memory thing and wants MORE!!! feed me Seymor!!! lol
Well I have spent hours today chopping, slicing, spreading, mashing, pasting, could it be something from the builing trade...no! I, along with my dad, have been flat out preparing for Saturday & the big opening....
I really feel for Rian, rain forest pulled out on wednesday from doing the food...now, they have their reasons and in my experience it's best not to dwell....So as the Head Consultant Chef for the place I was asked...I am glad to be doing it...I wish I had a few extra days...
I love doing all the amazing wraps with sauces would love to have really pushed the boat out with ices & sundaes...mmm can only dream...
what I don't want happening is people expecting a bloody miracle...not many will realise that I only had 2 days to prepare!! for a number around 100!!

I have compiled a menu that I would like to share...I know that some might be dissapointed that rain forest are not coming...so here goes!

Mains £5
Minted deli & salad wrap
Spiced taco filled salad wrap
Tri salad and double dip

above served with your choice of-
mixed salads including califlower cheese, thai sprouts, wild greens,
dressed noodles, dressed onion, marinated cabbage
And dressed with choice of -
Hummus
Curried cashew & papaya
Pesto
Tzatziki

Lighter bites £4
Falafel & mango chutney

Toppings £1 each
olives
pickled garlic
spiced nuts

lighter sweets £2
Cookie with walnut & maple mylk
Chocolate biscuit

cakes £3
Lemon & Lime cake
Blackcurrant cake
Chocolate cake

sweets £1 for 2
Hand tempered individual chocolates
Truffles

Well I hope to please all that come xx
sadly due to time constraints I will have large but limited amounts of everything...hope you understand xxx
Also give or take an idea or two...variations on creativity can not be helped!!! LOL

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

I really do love what I do....I loved last Saturday and catering for over a hundred people, they all seemed to like the food....see menu above!
Having done a number of Raw & cooked catered events I can honestly say there is more work in the run up to a Raw event but the general person who attends and eats is...well....& this is not meant as a criticism...but nicer, maybe more relaxed & happier!
odd thing to start this weeks journey diary...needed to!
I've had a funny old week, I think a bit stressful! as I am trying to rest because my Kidneys were hurting yersterday, it's a long story basically any stress, either from food, environment, lifestyle mishaps....leaves me gasping for perfect health!!! my tiny left kidney does it's best....but sometimes what I expect of it is too much!!

Well how do I get out of this cycle.....want to loose weight...know benefits and seek bodily fulfilment when I glance at a mirror...not geting it now.....know also that the balance of what my mind knows it wants and what I can fit in my tummy are two very different quantaties!!
So, when I seem to only be loosing a pound every couple of weeks....I get stressed!!!! then eat!!! LOL

What am I to do....book into a retreat and lock up the fridge????

again LOL

I need to be able to deal with the stress.....now retail therapy (therapy...what idiot thought that connection up???)
would not work...the whole debt situation only leeds to more stress...and lets face reality..if you purchase anything off the high street, from an "saving the planet" or "Ethical" stand point, buying off the high street should be a punishable offence...maybe 6 months planting trees or how about 6 months working in a third world hospital tending to the children who are affected by blindness having been sprayed by fertilizer so we can have cotton t shirts at £1.99??? the situation and senarios go on and on!!

so obvioulsy retail is out...

now other forms of strees beating things are excersise.....there are more but brain appears to be shutting down!!!

So what can I do? Still haven't ordered my Yoga swing...not got spare £100.... Bike seems like hard work with days now shorter/colder/wetter and little child who is on child seat...seems to weight far too much!!
Trampoline in back yard...well, covered in leaves and wet!!!
all I get is a squelshy dull "thud-thud-thud" if i attempt anything on it...so not much fun!!
I have even tried dancing with little man to "Lazy Town"....don't ask!!!

Swimming....would love to but the thought of chlorine and other peoples bodily fluids makes my stomach churn....
Ski slope....winter prices makes it hard for me!!! how do the justify £10 for 90mins????
Local Gym...to lonely.....!!! and Air Con!!!! breathing recycled not pure air in times of needing more air!!! can't see the logic!!

Walking....well I get to carry little man in the sling so could count this one...except today it's raining a lot!!

reading.....I read once that the eyes need excercise too......so maybe I will start gently!!!

[Jax]

Well how about some straight forward Yoga, starting off at beginner level if you haven't done it for a while............AND getting your son to do it with you ;)

[Jax]

Ohh is this what you are aiming for Karen???

bH0LJl7KPHI

I think I'll be giving that a miss tbh, can see even more joints popping out and ending up hanging myself :o
Actually all this reminds me I was going to start a thread on the benefits of yoga.

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

Obviously that will be me in a very short time!!!

I do do a little yoga with J in tow!!! LOL very funny all the awkward poses I just get to do them with weights!!! ie him bouncing on me or making use of his mummy shaped climbing frame!!!!

I love the yoga swing all that hanging upside down and wondering if landing on your head can actually hurt? Brilliant xxxx

I know I will love it and now want one even more than I did before!!!

[Jax]

Swimming....would love to but the thought of chlorine and other peoples bodily fluids makes my stomach churn....

Funnily enough somebody has just posted a joke about Public Swimming Pools elsewhere............and as I love a good laugh I can't stop myself posting it here http://www.rawinuk.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Recreate the fun of a visit to a public swimming pool in your home by filling the bath with cold water, adding two bottles of bleach, then urinating into it, before jumping in.

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

Peanut butter really thickly spread on lightly toasted granary bread...todays spectacular down fall....After seeing the Vagina monalogues at the Mayflower....and realising how many women are living unfulfilled lives!!!.....I recommend every male who is atleast interested in women should go and see it.....no excuses.... I read the book a few years ago but seeing it performed was just brilliant.
I loved the "Bob" act and truely loved the (and I know this word will get blanked out so I write it backwards trying to fool the system) "tnuc" act, me and mum who went to see it both decided that it was man who made that word rude, and the Monologues rightly deserve to bring it's use into daily life! I loved it when we all shouted the word out!
get the book, see the show DO IT

However it did affect my eating as I got sad that women are still not able to express themselves without "playground" stupidity or embarassment....
I felt liberated walking out the theatre, feeling that women can talk about their bodies, freely, without shame or guilt, that we live in a free world....this feeling lasted about 200yrds right up to the point where I remembered a line from the program saying (and think about the implications of it, as it's profound) "there is no playground equivelant of willy, Fanny is to twee, tnuc to vulgar and everything inbetween to pornofied"

not really about food, but emotions, I'll rave about this evening to all that pass the stall on Saturday!!! yipee!!!

[ani]

ref swimming in chlorine
i noticed Shazzie has put a vid of her in a chlorine free pool today.
i had a website list of non chlorine swimming pools
as 2 of my grandolas are allergic to chlorine.
it was like a lot of other gems on my old computer :(.
i have just found this which i know isn't local atm
but maybe one to watch as i see it is still reasonably uptodate
http://www.swimclub.co.uk/forum/archive/index.php/t-4801.html

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

Well a few days have gone by and I have gradually been scaring myself silly over next week, I'm off to stay at Health Etcetera, the raw food retreat, I'm eternally glad that the weekend I come out is a pot luck ....yum....and by coincidence the theme just happens to be creations (gourmet stuff) no pressure but I will have spent a week on green juices....my taste buds will be craving everything....not fussy!!!!
So I though I would post a few of my (photoed creations something I always forget to do!!)
http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad78/karenrawchocolateheaven/creationsdodgers023.jpghttp://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad78/karenrawchocolateheaven/dessertfulllight.jpg

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

obviously I have no idea ow to size the pictures from photo bucket or make more than one visable

help:help: please

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad78/karenrawchocolateheaven/dessertfulllight-1.jpgsome of my things i potter & create
http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad78/karenrawchocolateheaven/random2009032-1.jpgSome are left overs
http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad78/karenrawchocolateheaven/creationsdodgers023-1.jpgsome ideas are gifts from great friends that I had to make for myself xxxx

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

Well having not written for a few weeks it's about time to update...
the scales are still stuck at 12st 12lb a significant improvement on the beginning of last year...must not get down...
as we enter the most gluttenous month of the year and to my delight, Ruth made loads of chocolates and sold them at the last pot luck....
I couldn't help myself, I tried to convince myself that I would sell them on at the stall....well only 5 days has passed and I have eaten most of them...

A stark contrast to last week where I spent a week at Health Etcetera on a juice fast!!! I loved it and I feel I have genuinely learnt positive things but...come on....the season of all things Chocolate!!!

well it would have been silly to even try and fool my self...however I don't believe in New years resolutions and choose instead to try every day to better my life,

Sometimes it's a simple smile that makes my day others it's eating my body weight in chocolates.....

you get the picture....

I have a favorite quote I would like to share..
Bring to the room what you want to find there.
Bring to the moment what you want to experience there.
by
Neale Donald Walsch
conversations with God.

well keeping this nearly always in mind I love to Love...
I hug trees, literally...I read the magic faraway tree and believe it's true (still do)
I love all books by Charles deLint especially "Greenmantle" and Mally is real....
I am a member of "the cloud appreciation society" I never watch a weather forcast choosing instead to read the clouds and be constantly surprised by nature....
I many years ago stopped watching the news, in protest....my own protest...that they never start the news with anything positive!!!
I have recently watched a dvd of "Happy Heavenly Oasis" and am deeply in awe of this woman...yes she changed her name, but why...well it makes me cry to even think of it so please look her on the web.
She talks to insects and as someone who has some pretty deep fears of some of the flying kinds I am trying instead of screaming to talk to the little things that come into my home....I kid you not this really happened...
I was in the kitchen the other day and I swear a queen wasp apperated in front of me...there was no buzzing, now as i'm not keep on these creatures I would have noticed a buzz...but nothing!
so, I calmly open the cupboard to get a glass to trap it and put it outside.
but instead of just putting the glass straigh over the wasp, I spoke to it!!!
telling the wasp that, this was my home and I welcomed it's usefull activities outside but not in the house, and that we had no food.
then I reached up and the wasp flew down, slowly and landed on the glass and stayed with out moving while I faffed about opening the door.
then I didn't even shake it off, I said bye and it flew away!!!

I will of course be continuing this slightly strange course of action, I have so far spoken to the spider in the hall, that has now moved out!
the funny little gnat type flies that live as far as I can tell have evolved to be attracted to our front door and keep coming in then doing nothing in the hall....on speaking to some of these some have moved out...
and I chatted to another queen wasp that came in on the wood for the burner, she also moved out peacefully...

what state of mind am I living in....? am I blissed out on cacao, in tune with all things with a pulse....or have i finally connected to the rhythms of mother Earth.....?

Don't answer that one... I reckon there are few like me....!!! the rest of you will find a path, maybe just like mine or maybe in the fast lane that I used to call "life!!":decision:

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

Well I jumped on the scales today and was not altogether surprised to see the number 13 and the line just passed it.....duh!! should have said no at least once to giant helpings of cake...all raw mind, but huge nevertheless!!! lol
I am determined to race into the newyear dropping pounds of excess weight faster than ever before, I started yesterday with renewed enthusiasm for green juices dragging out my shiny never read copy of green smoothie revolution...and after glancing at a few so out of season recipes decided that I just need to improvise and improve my standard green drinks, I am in love with Celery & Cucumber with spirulina, wheatgrass & sun is shining all green & a bit lumpy !!!
I also went Skiing at the dry slope yesterday and usually when I go after not having gone for a while I spend a couple of runs down wobbling in a gian snow plough til I remember how my legs are supposed to be, yesterday however I managed a jump on my first run down then the bowl (those who have ever been to Sotons ski centre will know the bit i mean a bowl shape you ski into then jump out of!) I was slightly chuffed and pleased that I didn't fall over....at all!!
I then spent the afternoon trawling the web for cheap skiing holidays and after about an hour I rembered that I have absolutly no money to go off round europe!!! lol so the ski slope up the road and daydreams will have to do for now!!
I am still determined to be on bournemouth promenade by early summer wearing less than I normally do....
I also chose a rather radical apperance change on Christmas day I had all my hair cut off...partly as James & me had nits and I couldn't stand the itching and getting the electric comb through several feet of hair was timeconsuming and difficult and also I felt a strange urge to change my dependence on hiding behind long hair...something about my image being portrayed by the conventional women must have long hair to be attractive & sexy, I wanted to empower myself to feel confident in the woman that I am as just me and not the image, I felt that in some odd way it would help me as I would no longer have the excuse that when I have my hair all wild & free that nobody (in my eyes) would realise I was fat....mmmm......now I look in the mirror and am pleased that my hair has gone (for now) pleased that I feel confident and pleased that I no longer have nits!!!
Still no Yoga swing, rather hoped Santa would have visited us but alas no, so maybe I will start trying to save myself, a bit tricky at the moment as we have no work in!!!! Still the allotment is looking good and the front garden veg boxes are slowly filling up with compost, they are huge raised beds and thus need masses of compost we have one box filled & planted with onions & broccoli, and round the garden we have
Lettuce, kale, nettles, celery, mint, cabbage (leaves), sage, rosemary, feverfew, spinach. So added with things like brussles, parsnip, scorzoneria, greens etc from the allotment the food is rather tasty.
On Christmas day a few friends and us all gathered on Lepe Beach for a picnic & play and I gathered more sea beet & samphire that was just about the best day I have had for a long time, the weather was perfect and well most of my favorite people in the world were there xxx
Today I am making Chocolates in prep for Sat market, cause I don't really want to miss time with my family so I am trying to get everything done today so we can play for the next week xxxx such is life......!

[Ruth]

Can't wait to see your new look!

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

My Legs are blue...they have been dyed by my jeans...they are not new jeans, so I was somewhat surprised!
did i break out in a sweat without realising it....! talking of sweats, should we break into a sweat occasionally in the name of excersise? I am struggling to remember the last time I even raised my heart beat for more than a few minutes...it races at the sight of a cake! but i'm not sure that counts towards excercise!
I feel compelled to try on exercise T shirts that I found in my draws, some time ago I must have acquired these in the hope that buying the "right" clothes would suddenly turn me into Paula Radcliff and I wouldn't pass out the first hill I tried to run up!
Can't find appropriate trainers so me thinks that running wasn't on my mind when I bought the leggins & tops! maybe Yoga was, that gentle art of being able to bend and tie shoe laces without bending knees or farting, once past 35 I believe this is enevitable!
My Yoga Swing is a step closer to being in my possesion, then the opportunity to tie myself up and turn into a pretzel then do the spontanous splits looms on the horizon, our A&E is just seconds away! so I feel "safe" lol
My fridge is jammed packed with green leaves, if you overlook the chocolate and thats getting low down to my last 100 bars! panic set in today and I ordered loads of cacao to make more....not sure if most people get the same reaction when they run low ...what is considered low stocks???
So green leaves here we come...smoothies & juices mmmm
will update soon as am starting to feel the pressure mounting to get into those hot pants!!!

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

Well February is way througgh allready!!! what happened there!!! I suffered with aches & pains & an annoting chest pain this week...that when I looked on line for some clues told me after a self diagnosis test that I was due a Coronary any second!! well a day later and no heart attack happened and whoopie the pain has gone!!! never once in the test did it say anything about excersise!!! and I think it was the recent bout of trampoline antics that might have caused it!!!! when I was having the pains I forgot that I have been active so had a panic attack!!! LOL
Daren't get on the scales have sort of forgotten that I intended to loose weight....mmmm...... and Ruth left me a huge box of Chocolates to sell on the market and the first week I had them I sort of managed to eat about £50 worth!! I do remember onre day eating about 6 crunchy buns...I think she only left me about 8 so the other 2 vanished soon after!!! I even remember one of the crunchy buns making it to market and I was busy telling a customer about them and how nice they were and I just ate it in front of them!!! well enough said!!!!
maybe March will be the month I finally get a grip on reality and stop eating...off to raid the chocolate box...mine this time....fancy a nice bar of Lavender & vanilla or maybe a Super bar....or perhaps a pack of Choshi...oh dear!!!!! LOL

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

Well March arrived and I felt blessed that I was given a personal trainer..well she & he arrived in my life, She came to my stall and we came to an agreement that I would swop Chocolate for part of her time...and he came into my life from healthetcetera and I swopped chocolate for a weekly yoga class
second week in and I am reaping the rewards of aching daily!!! and due to a hacking cough am actually unable to eat much so have dropped a few pounds!!! hope the new excersise regime will keep new weight loss off!!!
Have started a new market this week as well, ProdGrow on Wednesdays in Winchester...seems ok!! having the usual hard sale beginning as need to educate all that now pass new stall as to the difference between raw & "normal" chocolate.....tis' hard!!!!!

Falling off the wagon...not me but I have been listening to a few friends of mine who have great raw intentions and often health reasons for being (coming to) or staying raw, but I have heard that some are eating less raw and more cooked....I was wondering what reasons people have?
Why do we go back to something that ultimately made us ill in the first place?
Are childhood tastes (memories) really so defining?

I watched my hubby eat roast beef the other day and I actually nearly said "can I have a bite?"...didn't...but it did set me thinking.....
What would happen if I ate meat...now? after 3 years of being raw!

and why if it is so healthy do I have the cold from hell????????????:pirate:

oh dear!!!!!:mad:

[Ruth]

I think it is the truly cold weather we've been having this winter that has encouraged some to go back to a bit of cooked in their lives. It has most definitely been the coldest few months I have ever experinced in my lifetime; and despite having found it almost effortless to be almost 100% raw since starting 2 years ago, this winter has really challenged me against all my taste-buds, reasoning and down-right preferences for raw.

i have just gone with the flow of it; whether it was needing (and it really seemed a physical 'need' not a craving...I just don't crave cooked anymore) lentil soup or hot herbal tea; a steamed carrot or chunk of sweet potato from my other-half's plate I have allowed myself to take what was offered and found it has helped get me through the cold. Sometimes i'd only need a spoonful of lentils or half a carrot to do the trick, whatever the 'trick' was! I actually found it freeing...a spiritual practice...to forgive my temporary need of a few mouthfuls of cooked a week. For that's all it did eventaully turn out to be; nothing dramatic but just an allowance.

Now the temperature has risen all the feelings of needing those spoonfuls have dissapeared, and it is more than easy to revert back to almost 100% raw...not that percentage matters when you are listening ever more consciously to your body and inner body.

Karen, maybe having the cold from hell is a release. Maybe you're letting go something? It's all for you, this life don't you think?

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

having just enjoyed my 2nd yoga class i can honestly say i feel improvements! I also feel very fat, being surrounded by stringy pretzles is not helping my ego!!! Boot camp has no fatties either again not helping me..... I actually told personal trainer that i wasn't bothered bout loosing weight!! Think might have been deluding my self a bit there!!!! Lol... Did manage a chinup and a few press ups something i have never been very good at.... Well new resolveis /juice until i am thin\ not including pot lucks they are my days off!!!! Starting tomorrow at market....might make markets days off to...see how i go.. Aim to juice for a day for every year i've been alive& then keep going until i am happy....... Watch this space

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

Well am managing to juice a bit more...failed slightly at eating a pea fritter & chips yesterday then followed by a raw dinner with a rather large side serving of vegan curry cooked as we were having a family meal & my dad wanted a curry....well today i was starving all day, I ate my green juice followed by i think 4 bars of chocolate then feeing hungry still I got back from market and downed a huge avocado & sprout smoothie.
Am getting used to sprouts, I ordered loads of trays from www.aconburysprouts.co.uk (http://www.aconburysprouts.co.uk) and am enjoying them and know that I have to have more.....trying.....!!!
Feel like I am missing something....SOLIDS!!!! LOL

apart from markets & potlucks I reckon I am going to give juicing a fair try...I have to start shedding weight...my central tyre is still there and the lower tyre is stubborn!! and I have "back fat" what & when did that arrive????
I remember not having it..you know ladies the days when your bra didn't cut in...then some time passes and all you seem to have is evolved a tyre system on the back...I only realised how bad it was when I visited my personal trainer for the first time last week, she took a series of photos of different postures and one was of the back of me....the bubble I had convinced myself I looked ok in was well and truely burst.....
I am struggling with the not feeling full....
But if everytime I had said I was dieting (now eating healthily!)I had carried on with it, I would not be in this mess now....
Why is it so hard????
I really thought going raw would naturally shed pounds...not so....I have struggled through the loss of every pound and sighed with frustration at every pound gained....
I know every year since going raw I have each January weighed a stone less so I have lost 3 stone but that is too slow!!!

Now is my time for serious actions, Bootcamp, yoga, yoga swing, personal trainer and regular cycling & skiing are all featuring in my weekly regime...summer really is just days away and I will be bikini bodied by my birthday....
so if anyone sees me struggling please remind me...
The body I am living in is not a representation of the actions of my daily living now. The body is history just hanging on a bit too long......

sorry for the ranting moan....but just spent hours at the market surrounded by men who are being blokey and commenting on every woman that passes by...or jokes that are not suitable for before 9pm!! and they are sweet but have just knocked any sense of body achievements I had invented in my head...after 3 yoga classes and boot camps I feel trimmer...but knocking some pies over got me called "fat ass"! I rest my case......

[Carrot Top]

Hi Karen
Hello from a somewhat wilted carrot top...
I too have missed solids this last week.... Acute gum infection (my dentists words!) has made it impossible to chew anything without excruciating pain, so soups, juices, smoothies & pureed fruit have been my staple diet for 5 days this week. Have lost another 2 lbs in weight & feel constantly hungry. Am taking antibiotics which I didn't really want to do... but gum has improved a bit so it was luuuvelly to eat some 'solid' rice this evening (I guess I'm only about 50% RAW, being a newbie).

I'm also trying to up the amount of exercise I do. Didn't keep to my plans this last week due to face ache. Will bring my bike to this coming Pot Luck, so save some energy for a cycle ride after all the tropical fruits!

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

I really am beginning to believe there are such things as pixies, faries, goblins, sprites and the like!!!
Who else sits on your shoulders or worse calls from the fridge telling you exactly what it is that you are missing out on!!!???
Well I dusted off my (lol) much loved copy of Jason Vale's loose 7lb in 7 days and shopped in waitrose until I felt sick with the amount of exotic produce I was about to buy...rushed home and began juicing.....to discover that I only really like one of the juices and thats mostly pineapple so having sugar rushes 3 times a day...lost 3lb but that might have been after the excited bowl movements after the kebab!!! yes, you read right a conventional lamb kebab....shock horror...yes I am human and have normal food ****** days!!! the last time I ate a meaty takeaway was 3 years ago....a burger from goodwood....! well if every 3 years or so I don't manage the saintly purist diet then what the heck!!
At least i'm comfessing...10 hail mary's mmmmm lol
but I did loose weight lol....
sort of back to the usual state of play now, had 4 bars of chocolate, a green juice, 3 bananas, 2 green wraps and a chip and feel fine....reckon there is no such thing as a perfect day...
Still aiming to magically loose 4 stone in now what is really close to summer, will keep the yoga and training sessions....have dropped a dress size so a straight size 14 now (from most shops) not bust but waist...bust still 16 but always was bigger up there!!!
off now to talk to the imps and see if they have found the "chocca mocha" bars.....mmmmm yum xxx

[Rawalchemist]

:decision:Hi Karen, just popping up to say that is is great being human and having days where we eat stuff we don't normally eat! Beating ourselves up about it is harsh so we should just let it go and then get back to being our shining pure selves the next day:tea:.
yesterday I reminded myself why I finally broke my addiction to bread - by having a sandwich for supper - nice, but not going to happen again for a while!

I still have around 3-4 stone to lose but it has finally begun to release - my history is hanging on too...but now it has decided the time is right!
I have found that I do not like juices much and they leave me hungry - I prefer my thick green smoothies which keep me going all day with little worries to hunger - if I do get some hunger pangs I have a couple of flax krackers or an avocado to take it away.
Supper is normally a cooked reasonably healthy meal, but can contain some cheese or tuna and some good old spuds!!!
Hubby has agreed to try a couple of raw meals at night each week, so I am recipe hunting across the net - I love simple foods that are easy to make - spending time in the kitchen after being in there all day making raw foods to sell is NOT my idea of fun!! lol

What I embrace is the sheer amount of detoxing we go through on a daily basis - it amazes me, the depth of learning about our bodies, minds and spiritual changes that being high raw brings...each day is a day closer to being free of all the years of **** we have been carrying!

Thank you for sharing and baring all your experiences here - it really is good to share what we are all going through.

Love
Dawn x

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

went to boot camp this evening and it wasn't until near the end that i worked out why i felt really tired...
Today i have cycled about 5 miles towing son....walked another couple some of that was carrying him.....done the usual ton of house work.....not actually sat down until right now!..... Then 45mins of very strenuous excersise...
And i wondered why i was not feeling bouncy fit?????
I love my new found excersise stuff, the yoga swing is very hard and to be fair i've not yet managed to work a workout into my everyday...it, when you are doing it, encourages movement and feels great...the yoga classes are truely wonderful.....and the bootcamps and sweatily hard!
So why then after 7 weeks have i only dropped one dress size and gained half a pound????
Well not to worry...i'm planning on shifting my goal posts....not to have the bikini body by this summer.....or indeed any summer....
I am going to celebrate my every achievment...
Here's how
I have lost 3 stone since going raw nearly 4 years ago..
I am consistantly a high raw person, occasionaly i have had cooked mouthfuls or even meat..
Again meat well, i celebrate that i am largely a meat free person, i no longer feed meat to myself or close family so they benefit healthily from increased veg consumption.
I feel more mobile, less tired and more flexible than i have for years..
I have saved a fortune by growing a lot of our food...
Xxxx lets celebrate xxxx

[Ruth]

And you are a truly lovely person to know
Who gives so much joy to the community around you
Spreads beauty and enthusiam for life wherever you go
Encouraging others...so go ahead and encourage yourself too!

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

Just read the last post and marvel at how things have changed over then last couple of months...
boot camps are going great as is the weekly yoga,
I can hold a plank position longest at boot camp 3.08 thats after a strenuous workout ... also can almost get my hands flat to the floor in standing forward bend in yoga...just two of my new bodies brilliant achievements. I have found that I am loving all this excersise...a full 4 evenings a week are dedicated to pounding my body...that bizzarely has not shifted either weight nor size, well except that I can squeeze into some size 12s and get into nearly all size 14 even my bust that when I went for a professional fitting a couple of days ago are bigger than ever!!!
back fat must be shrinking...
well re the diet, it has settled after I did a 10 day green juice fast on it's own rhythm
Raw leaves and ground top veg like peas and corn. wild foods, and meat to be fair mostly fish but being honest a few others pop in quite a bit these days.
It by some miracle has done the following
reduced flair ups in my kidneys, well I have one normal one and one the size of a walnut and the little one is a bit of a problem. all my life it has been a pain in the back!!! lol..... mmmm
reduced my blood pressure & cholesterol
always testing alkaline on the ph wee strips
have zero spots at pmt time (well one tiny one)
have no PMT but since going vegan / raw PMT stopped
but so has most of the period pains as well
and I am sure that I have a few less grey hairs!!
my energy levels did drop a bit but are back bouncy as ever!!

so whats my verdict

for me a extremely low carb diet is working, think Atkins but with raw veg and your getting the idea.
I am eating high fat (meat) high protein and almost no carbs.
only carbs from veg sources and they are pretty low.

back to the verdict
should we address and follow the books that are promoting getting your blood type checked then following the blood type diet? or juicing 7lbs in 7 days books, or the raw alkaline diet,
well no
I dont think we should adopt someone elses pattern of eating that could like in "quantum eating" have taken the author many years to get to that state of dry fasting after 2pm everyday...would actually put me in hospital having only one kidney....
because these books are precisely that, someone elses ideas.
It you get your health checked by your chosen health care practitioner and are prepared to listen to your body taking into consideration all the stresses of daily life and your families wishes as well then you could quite easily come to your own conclusions and state of positive health that is as radical as the books but as unique as you.....be fair as well listening to your body if you are really fat will be listening to bits that you don't really want or need. So be honest and ask which bits are asking for the chocolate cake???
lifes path really does wind all over the place but we all start & finish in the same place its the winding that is fun so thread your selves into pretzels and enjoy everything

love & laughs Karen xxx

[Jax]

Firstly well done on all you've achieved so far:peace:

Secondly, I agree, absolutely everything we read is someone else's ideas or supposition really and it doesn't necessarily fit with everybody. Then there's the swings in thinking and who's behind the research eg, Stevia, Agave etc. So you really just have to find and take the bits that work for you, sit back and enjoy the ride http://www.rawinuk.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

Well well well....having not jotted anything down for a while I figured I would say a few words.
I really feel I am on track...don't know where i'm going but nonetheless I'm getting there...
I've eaten meat these last couple of weeks with wild abandon and then after suffering what I can only describe as a food hangover am (for now) back to being Raw mostly vegan as opposed to Raw with a bit of cooked meat, I reckon like Raw Rob a balance is key and listening to your body is vital, so when a bit of fish keeps me sane then a bit of fish I will eat...
mmmmm
Still no where near the bikini body despite my efforts at boot camp & yoga, can now do many full pressups and hold a near 5 min plank postition but still the scales hover way inthe double figures!
Last Friday I went to my brothers wedding and in the spirit of love I at whatever was put in front of me....I gained 8 lbs!!!! lost 6 of those since and am on track to loose the other 2...but what was that all about????
I know wheat is a nightmare and I don't drink alcohol so I can't blame that...he did have a sweetie buffet, and I do mean jellybabies, smarties, allsorts etc on one huge table!!! once the first mouthful was consumed so was I, with a awful desire to eat the lot!!!!
Funny thing was that James my 4 year old picked a bag of smarties nd ran out side and threw them everywhere!
I said what was he doing and he said "Wish Fish"
now a episode of a kiddy program maggie & the ferocious beast, they free the trapped wish fish from the well and set him free in the river, they throw coins down the well...
James thought the smarties were coins and I wasn't about to correct him, for all our errors in the food we feed him he has no idea that sweets exist!
And based on my binging on Friday I am glad he will never have to suffer that himself!!!

Well also I have now not been up at the retreat for a while now having officially left a few weeks ago, I really feel that I am a free person to now promote the things I love the most, well mostly Cacao and a friend of mine visits a food cooperative near bristol every week and there is a guy there who presses his own Hemp oil....amazing stuff at £20 per litre it is pricier than say "Good Oil" but wow does it taste amazing!

Also will be promoting my raw stall a bit more on here

And in that spirit I would like to tell you about the new
Rawvolutionising the Rocky Road, Rawsome
now I know...a long title but these series of bars are all titled
Rawvolutionising the....
and Rocky Road is very popular, however last week we had the amazing Ruth Daber Live blood analysis thing done here and cashews show as being acid forming! not sure if she distinguishes between raw and conventional cashews same as with Cacao as she said says no cocoa and that is a very different product from cacao???
well back to the Rawsome bar, they are a little smaller than the usual bar but that is cause I packed some pretty powerful things into them
Camu camu, aulterra, etherium gold, himalayan pink salt, vanilla, fo ti, mulberries wow they are good,
I made 40 ish last week and am struggling find them....I think I ate a few!!!


LONG LIVE CACAO xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[Ruth]

Sounds good x

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

Excited tonight, the hallway is full of camping stuff for me & James are going away til Friday,
Well the little man had a huge bike accident today, our fault for not securing the tow bike on the back of my big bike. He came off and was quite badly shook up.
Now funny thing was even though I spend all day every day with him I felt a bit of us time was needed in a healing place. So it's off to the Forest. I asked him if he wanted to go camping and he was so excited!
I felt that we should seize the moment and book. He didn't even mind that daddy couldn't come!
I am amazed at the memory capacity of my little man.
a couple of years ago he ran off with an ancient tube of germoline and never came back with it....
Literally months went by and when I would occasionally ask him where it was....
We searched everywhere...
One day James walked in the lounge with it.....
this was months later!!!!
I asked him where he found it?
He pointed to the peg bag! something I never use so would never have looked in it!!!
I was amazed.
Now when I ask him where is stuff he can nearly always tell me aven days or weeks after he has hidden it away!
little gems of wisdom kids are and he is turning out to be my greatest teacher....

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

2nd post of the evening but a great moment for me
I WORE A BIKINI YESTERDAY
and not just on my own I did have a great friend stay and we went in the tub, now normally I wear tankini but I braved a Bikini
being fair it was first thing in the morning and I wasn't bloated from a day in the heat and she said I "looked ok"
so there is hope xxxxxxxx

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

Have been thinking...I am thinking about Christmas and wondering how a year has passed so quickly...
If I am honest I am looking at another New Years resolution being "loose weight"
I still seem to find the fridge irresistible, I still haven't got into the swing of my Yoga Swing,
I did go and see David Wolfe a few weeks ago and was reminded of two things.
One it is possible to love someone you don't know and two hanging upside down is considered a good place to be!

Life is full up and squeezing out the edges, it's full of lovely people and lovely events.
I had a great day at Market today, many new people came and I was reminded that new people can try & like raw chocolate. That the world is not completely full of cadbury chocolate lovers, that there is a place in childrens hearts for Kale Krisps...and I was blessed to be graced with the presence of a whole family who wretched on eating my lovely Kale Krisps and raw chocolate.....
they reminded me that we have such a long way to go and also that everyone is entitled to their own tastes, and we can not change everyone, but the few that have changed will have knowledge forever. For that reason I continue to brave the market to encourage strangers to try foods that are completely alien.
To give samples and not make a profit in the hope that a raw seed will be sown.
Sunnyfields is a quiet market these days compared to a year or so ago, but it does bring people in who are seeking a simpler life away from the supermarkets.
Some of these people pass my stall never realising I am even there...
Some stop and try a few things...
Some buy...
Some ask questions....
Some shake my hand or hug me and go off, returning a week or so later with a friend or family member...
Some I never see again...
Some become great friends.....
Some come to pot lucks...
Some actually change
Most give me hope that people do care xxxx

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

Well I've rolled (literally having spectacularly gained even more weight!!) into the start of summer of 2011 in a different place again..

Having chosen to dedicate my time to working with James, I have no regrets on giving up my budding chocolate empire.
I have noticed that Om bars have slotted in to the vacant places my bars once were in the shops I stocked. I am glad of this cause they are raw and have a great ethical standpoint, so I buy whenever I can.
For us I simply dont make any money so raw chocolate has slipped into the luxury slot it occupies for most people, I have reverted to my love of foraging and am keeping a loose log of my efforts on another page in here.
I have found my days are peacefully full up these days.
The road is ever winding and launching us as a family in different places but a common thread is entwined around us, family, friends, neighbours and strangers
FOOD
yep, it is the common ground, the table is the place to gather, we have a circle out door table and it offers no head and no order to seating, it's perfect.
Family chills over an evenings salad, friends chatter over a shared raw lunch, neighbours drop by for a pot of herbal tea, strangers gather for some of the many open house events we have.
We have had a few, from Fairtrade Coffee mornings, wild food walks, sustainable homes exhibition to taking part in the world record syncronised breastfeeding attempt.
So you see from babes at ******* to oldies at coffee mornings food bought us all together

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

amazingly breastfeeding is allowed but not mammaries themselves !!