Vol. 3, Issue 65, October 2, 2009
From the Desk of the Diva
 I've seen one too many stock photos of skinny minnies this week. Let's be real and let it all hang out. Literally. This week's daring divas are putting their "Before" pictures out there to the world and making a bold declaration to get their confidence and their sexy curves back.
Last week Doll, our customer service angel, came to pay me a visit. While I buzzed about in my usual friendly frazzle, she helped me get things done, learned a few new recipes and soaked up the good vibrations. We had some time, one evening, to look each other deeeeeeep in the eyes. The questions sounded a bit like this:
"What does it take to make a difference when someone you care about keeps sabotaging their own process?"
"How do we light the fire of determination in others so they are inspired to do whatever it takes to make things go right?"
"How do we light our own fires? Let go of our own self-sabotaging behavior?"
We bring donut-dipped fingers to our faces and carry out self-destructive patterns without thinking sometimes. For some of us, the cardinal, culinary sin is eating too much salt or too much fat. For others it's polishing off another bucket of Ben & Jerry's triple chocolate fudge delight. The intensity changes, but the game is the same.
What does it take for you to stick your teeth in Life like you mean it?
What has to happen before you DECIDE to BE who you want to BE, DO what you really want to DO, and HAVE what you want to HAVE?!
These are the questions we asked ourselves and you know, Dear Diva, we found some answers.
It starts with having someone who believes in you maybe even MORE than you believe in yourself. If you ever needed a someone like that, look no further. We built this community on more than pretty pictures and ebooks. We built it on love, hope, and the courage to dream!
If you thought "high heels" were about showing off your curves, think again. They're kickstands!!
Kick!
Stand!
Life is what YOU make of it!
And a big ol' gushing "L" word comin' right at ya...
LOOOOOOOVE,
Tera
In this week's issue:
Recipes of the Week: "Fettuccini and Meatzaballs! by Angela Elliott
Feature Article: Affordable Organic Produce: How to Buy Organics at Cost! by Joanna Steven
Feature Article: "From "Slow and Stupid" to Unstoppable!" by Aran M Cockburn
Feature Article: "Meet Doll Creelman: Cozy Coaching Call Queen!" by Doll Creelman
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Recipes of the Week: "Fettuccini and Meatzaballs!"
by Angela Elliott
(Now, just so we're all clear, here, this is THE Angela Elliott. The bubbly, vivacious, incredibly inspiring Angela Elliott. She is THE culinary wizard who created Alive in 5, The Simple Gourmet aaaaaand she's got more books on the horizon. Ice-cream lovers, stay tuned!) Enjoy this delectable replacement for a old cooked food classic.)
Fettuccini
ingredients:
5 fresh young zucchini
Sauce Ingredients:
1 ½ cups raw pine nuts
1 cup soaked raw cashews
3 cloves fresh garlic
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons Himalayan salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 ½ cups unsweetened fresh nut milk or Thai young coconut water
Juice of ½ lemon
½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Parsley for garnish
Directions:
Using either a saladacco, mandolin, or vegetable peeler, peel the zucchini making long thin strips. Blend everything except the parsley in the blender. Blend until smooth. Mix the zucchini noodles with the sauce. Garnish with parsley and serve.
Meatzaballs!
Special equipment needed: dehydrator
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups walnuts
2 cups young zucchini, shredded
½ cup carrot, shredded
¾ cup celery, minced
1 ½ cups mushrooms, minced
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons mellow unpasteurized miso
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon fresh sage, minced
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
1 ½ teaspoons of Spice Islands brand poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon Celtic salt
½ teaspoon white pepper
¼ cup of freshly ground golden flax seed (take whole flax and powder in a coffee grinder)
Directions:
Grind the walnuts in a food processor until finely ground, remove and place in large bowl. Pulse chop zucchini and add to bowl, pulse chop the carrots, add to the bowl, pulse chop the mushrooms, add to bowl, pulse chop the celery, add to the bowl.
Chop the herbs by hand and add to bowl. Use a garlic press to mince the garlic and add to the bowl. Grind the flax seeds in a coffee grinder and add to the bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix by hand. Form mix ture into little balls and place in dehydrator on a teflex sheet and dehydrate at 104 degrees for 6 hours then remove teflex sheet, turn over and dehydrate for another 6 hours or until desired texture.
For more amazing recipes, please check out Alive in Five and The Simple Gourmet.
Affordable Organic Produce: "How to Buy Organics at Cost!
by Joanna L Steven
 There are plenty of posts all over the net on how to buy organic food on a budget. Tips usually involve buying in season, taking advantage of sales etc.
Unfortunately, such tips aren't always practical. I for one rarely use them, because organic food around here is very, very expensive, and when it's on sale, it's still expensive.
For instance, one head of organic lettuce costs, at worst, $3.09 and at best $2.70. Mmmm... Considering I eat salads every day, and include lettuce in my morning green juices, I'd be spending over $100 a month just on a daily head of lettuce. Not only do I find such a price tag to be outside my budget, I also do not want the coop to think it's alright to charge so much. To me, buying a $3 head of lettuce says: "I care so much about my health that you can take advantage of me and I won't say a word".
Another common advice is to forage. I love foraging and when nettles are in season, I pick about 3 ounces a day to add to my green juices instead of kale. We also pick mulberries, apples and pears whenever we can. But let's face it, in many states and countries, we can't rely on foraging to save a substantial amount and get enough nutrition.
Here is what I realized: the only way to really save on produce is to skip the stores' mark-up altogether. That's right. If you get your produce directly from the farmers or distributor in bulk quantities, you will sometimes be paying a little more than on conventional produce from regular stores, but most of the time, you'll be saving a huge amount, as many stores charge at least a 100% mark-up. All you need is to be organized, and get some people on board with you.
The thing is, I believe organic food to be a right. I think it's unfair to tell the single mother and her kids that because they don't make enough money, they have to have pesticide on their food. I don't think that people below a certain income level have to endanger their health, while people above their income level have the luxury of eating safe food. Everyone has a right to eat safe food, and money should not even play a significant role in the equation.
Buying from the supplier is really a good thing to do, because not only will you be buying organic, you will also be buying more organic produce, and you will get other people to buy organic when they think they can't afford it. As a result, you will be driving up the sales of organic produce, and while this may not be good for your local co-ops, it will be good for organic agriculture and organic farmers in general. Once you place your first order, you can write to the local paper and tell them about your project. It's likely that other people will want to get on board with you, and you'll be able to order more and more often.
I have now placed my first order, and it is awesome. I got strawberries, blueberries, young coconuts, broccoli, romaine hearts, baby greens, parsley, mint and juicing oranges. The others also got peaches.
It is all organic, and it is barely more expensive than conventional produce. It is, of course, a lot less expensive than the coop's prices. It is normal for a store to charge a 100% markup, and stores often try to see how high they can price an item and still have people buy the stock (young coconuts went from about $10 a piece (yes! $10!) to $4 where I live).
Of course, I had to buy 50% of the order, but nothing will go to waste. I will put everything I need in the fridge, and will freeze the rest. As we get more members, we will pay less per individual and will order more often. And since the supplier has my address as a delivery point, all orders come to me. I don't have to drive anywhere, except for non-produce purchases, which don't make the bulk of my food intake anyway.
I can finally eat organic now and during my future pregnancy, and feed my baby and husband the best food available. I will provide the community with an opportunity to get the cheapest possible organic food in the area, and drive up the sales of organic produce. I will support organic farming without stressing out because it's too expensive. It's no longer unsustainable for me to buy organic.
Here is everything you need to do, step by step, to create your own Food Buying Group:
Step 1:
You need to see if a distributor can deliver produce to your location. If you have a health food store in the area, or a store that sells organics, it is almost certain that their distributor can deliver to you, too. The local co-op gets its produce from Albert's Organics, a large scale distributor with branches all over the country. It does not matter if they don't have a branch in your state, they can still deliver to you. You can also buy from farmers, I think, but it's not a good option for me here, as local farms do not grow everything I need, like large quantities of lettuce, citrus fruits, coconuts etc., and in the winter, they cannot grow anything.
If you don't know who the distributor is, the easiest way to find out is to call your local store and ask. My local co-op refused to share their price mark-up with me, but readily said that they got their produce from Albert's. Go figure :) If they refuse to share this information by phone, you can try going to the store, and ask an employee instead. In general though, I would expect them to tell you who delivers their produce.
Step 2:
Contact the distributor, in my case Albert's Organics, and ask if they can deliver to your Buying Group. They asked me where I was located, and sent the information to their transportation department. They quickly replied saying they would deliver to me on Fridays, and orders have to be placed by noon on Thursdays. Their is no shipping fee. They deliver everything by truck once my order reaches $400. I would imagine that high fruit raw vegans can reach this amount in no time.
Step 3:
Once this is done, you'll have to fill out some paperwork. Do not be intimidated by some of the questions! I supposedly had to provide a list of people who gave me credit in the past (businesses, not electric companies etc). I told them that I did not need any credit, and that I would pay everything upfront. They told me to skip this page, and fax them the rest (my address etc.) A few weeks later, we placed our first order, and got high quality, delicious produce.
Step 4:
Find people who are willing to order with you. Make it very clear that they do not need to buy cases, unless they want to of course. I personally did get cases. I juice 1-2 romaine hearts every morning, love tall glasses of orange juice, and green smoothies are a quick and easy breakfast we make quite often. As a result, I go through a lot of produce, and did not mind getting cases. Other people who ordered with me got a few pounds of peaches, a couple heads of broccoli, a couple bags of baby greens etc. Nothing big they cannot go through in a week's time.
Step 5:
Make a spreadsheet of everything you will order, calculate the total for each person, and send them the spreadsheet to make sure it's all good. If it is, ask them to pay you in advance. If they pay by check, call their banks to make sure they have enough money in the bank account. Once you're sure everyone has paid, place your order and double check the delivery day.
Step 6:
When you get the produce, divide everything up according to the spreadsheet, and refrigerate what need to stay cool. If you don't have enough space in the fridge, a cool basement is a good alternative if the produce is going to be picked up the same day. Albert's delivered everything cold from a refrigerated truck, and some things were ice packed, so everything was still fresh when people came to pick up their share.
** Let me know if you try this, or have any questions!
The Divas have outdone themselves!
Click Here to access our newest collection of diva-inspired recipes!
Simple. Sexy. Raw.
Aran M Cockburn: From Fibromyalgia to Freakin' Unstoppable
On Friday at 1.54pm, EST, Tera said these horrifying words…
” I want you to write a story. I want to feature you in the next issue of Health in High Heels.
Tell YOUR story. “
There was a deathly silence all around the house, you could have heard a pin drop!
Suddenly…. “EEEEK!”….. thud!
I picked myself up off the floor and dusted myself down and…”Oh ***t!” could be heard by 6 cats and one Katie the Dog! I think the chickens and ducks heard it too… ;)
So here’s my story:
Like most people, I come from a dysfunctional family, domineering, dominating, violent father, weak, ineffectual, critical mother. I was shy, timid, and had a hearing problem which made me seem slow and stupid.
I grew up with insecurities, and low self esteem. I married young, (for the first time) mainly to get away from home. That didn’t work out, so I married again. This time I had three children, who I adore. The marriage itself wasn’t very successful but I stayed until the kids had grown up then I left.
Through all of this my health was poor, hormonal problems resulting in a hysterectomy at 32, long term reactive depression, but I coped. I wasn’t happy, but I coped. I coped with life by harming myself. I did what I could, I guess. But I survived.
When I was 49, coming up to my 50th birthday I had a slight heart attack.
I was shocked. I was too young to die!
In early 2003, a couple of months after my heart attack, I discovered computers and found support on the Internet with support groups for survivors of abuse, depression, co-dependency, Bipolar Disorder, self harmers., etc. Wonderful to have such a wide range of categories to which I could relate.
Through a series of serendipitous online encounters, I made friends and they offered me a place to stay while I decided what I wanted to do with my life. (I lived in England and they lived in Canada!)
When I came, I met the love of my life and married ONE LAST TIME!
Over the past six years that I have been here in Canada and in a loving relationship, I have learned a great deal about myself.
 For the first 50 years of my life I thought I was stupid, unable to learn anything or do anything worthwhile. It was Rob and his stepfather Bill and the support group members who taught me that I was worthwhile that I did have something to offer and to contribute.
And now I find myself here—on staff at the Raw Divas doing something I love with people who support and inspire me. Tera is dragging me out of the shadows kicking and screaming all the way and into the floodlights…for which I am grateful.
I have plans for the future now. I am learning to take my life back and support other women in doing the same thing. I’m learning to take charge of my life and my health in ways I’ve never done before.
As I’ve learned by now, one of the most important elements to making positive changes stick is having a sense of community and support. I am putting this all out there with the hope that you’ll be inspired to make a few changes yourself, but also as a sort of announcement—a success story yet to be told. You see, I’ve come a long way, but I still have quite a ways to go and I wouldn’t mind your help in making it all happen.
Last December I became a Vegan for health reasons, a few years ago I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and pre-Diabetes. My life was painful and miserable. I did my research about medications and treatments. The main treatments for Fibro are anti-inflammatories and anti-depressants. I wanted something better, so I decided to become Vegan to see if it would help with the Fibro symptoms, it worked!
Within 5 Days I was pain-free!
I am still pain-free.
So the pain is gone, but there are a few extra inches around the middle and I’m ready to get the health and energy I want and deserve. I have 80 pounds to lose. Doll (the customer service queen at the Raw Divas) and I have buddied up and when she and I hit the 40 pounds free mark, Tera’s buying us EACH a dehydrator. ;-)
I realized that more than anything I want to help others improve their health and restore their hope in a better life. But how can I help others to find good health, lose weight, and get fit if I don’t do the same for myself?
As I said, I’ve come along way, but from here there’s still quite a few miles to travel and I just wanted to let you know that I’m grateful for your love, support and kindness as I journey forward.
*hug*
Aran
PS: I started my journey two days ago and have 'released' 2lbs!
Meet Doll Creelman: "Cozy Coaching Call Queen"!
My Dear Friends,
 It’s time for me to come clean; bare it all. While Tera and I finished up our zuccihni pasta with fresh tomato sauce and side salad we started brainstorming about the Body Enlightenment System. We talked about what works and what doesn't for me. I began to realize that as a customer service person knee deep in the raw food world, I had better not only know my stuff but be the living proof of what a life-changing thing moving to raw food can be.
So here it is. Me, plain and simple. I’m mom to 4 grown girls and married to a loving, caring partner, Nick. I am basically happy with my life. I have 2 dreams jobs. One is working as Minister of Music at a local church and the other is sharing with all of you here and being a support to the Raw Divas in whatever way I can.
First, some background. I started my very first BES program over 1 year ago now. I was able to stay with the menu plans and exercised most days. I lost some weight. Good for me. Right? I actually started my journey to a healthier me in January 2006. That’s when I created my blog: Dolls Blog. I thought if I could share with the world my day-to-day ups and downs of losing weight that I would be motivated to stick with it.
At some point late last fall and into the long winter and spring I lost my motivation, my drive. Wish it could be as easy to just pick it up like the marbles Nick found for me a week ago. He handed me this great little package…just incase I’d “lost my marbles.” (Haven’t lost his sense of humor, that’s for sure.) Well, picking up my motivation, like those marbles, is just not that simple.
At least not for me.
I’m an emotional eater. I eat when I’m angry, hurt, sad, happy, excited etc. Food is what I lean on. Food is no longer just something to sustain me. With 80 extra pounds on me, by now food is actually something I’ve been using to harm me.
But all that is changing now.
Here’s the thing: I know The Body Enlightenment System works! I saw and felt the results last summer. So, it’s high time I make it work and for good this time. No more trips to the Golden Arches for me. I’m digging in my heels. This time is it! I have raised the bar!
There’s a line from the movie “Men in Black”: “It’s time to put it on. The last suit you’ll ever wear.” Well, this is my last suit. My health and my body deserve only the very, very best I can give it. Why would I not take care of the only suit I’ll ever wear?!
I’m feeling strong, brave and bold!
I can handle this in an intelligent way—with grace, patience and love.
The facts:
- 51 years old
- 80 lbs extra weight
- blood pressure – stable
- blood sugar – stable
- mobility – Somewhat mobile, but no marathons this year.
The mission: release those 80 lbs @ 7 lbs/month
That’s 28 lbs by end of December
This for me, right now, is NON-negotiable.
I love my life and those around me.
I want to be here for a very long time.
Thanks for your support and believing in me while I do it.
Love,
Doll
P.S. From Tera
Just got off the call with Doll for our afternoon meeting and guess who has lost 9 pounds since her visit to my house last week. Ahhh… the power of community speaks for itself.
Reach Out, Ladies! Friendship is your life jacket!
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on Sunday and it could be yours!
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Raw desserts that will end your cheesecake cravings!
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