bodyalive

The Blue Star Gazette

	Summertime Is the Perfect Time to Try Raw! By Aimee Kelly Spencer This past Sunday I met a new, local organic farmer who told us about how rhubarb is most commonly reproduced today by a method known as “tissue culture” or cloning. Hmmm, what on earth is that?! Sounds like something to investigate. Where did I meet this interesting man? At a rawluck. The Peninsula is not a new spot for fans of raw and live food to hang out. Many groups, clubs, social events, healing centers have formed here in support of the benefits of eating a life-foods lifestyle. Some have remained quiet and private, some reaching out to all who might be interested. It is those efforts that have inspired me to pursue my path to health. This year BodyAlive! and Body and Soul Yoga Studio have joined energies in Port Townsend and have been hosting Sunday night “rawlucks” (usually known as potluck or potlatch) three out of four weekends every month. These regular gatherings have provided attendee’s with an abundance of organic, healthy food, great recipes, excellent conversation and networking, birthday celebrations, and occasionally some dancing and music! Every night is different – new people, new food…and it has, to me, always felt perfect. We often take a moment to gaze in awe at the decadent feast that we co-created. Each dish glows with the love and care that the individual who made it poured into its creation. We have folks who are brand-new to creating raw/live foods…usually someone has given them some help with what to bring…and we have 100%, 8 years running raw foodists, 20% raw fans and everything in between! What we have in common is a willingness to share a very special kind of meal and experience reverence for the gifts of this choice. When you change or consider changing something as fundamental as how you eat, there is a lot that can come up – questions, doubt, loneliness… and “rawlucks” serve to ease the path in all these ways. The benefits are many: We learn more about the raw/live life. We feel encouraged and inspired to try making new dishes. We feel supported in choosing a healthy, “live-it” lifestyle. We meet warm-hearted people with their own interesting, personal stories and approaches to their relationship with food. We organize bulk purchases to save time and money. We enjoy occasional guest speakers and guest artists who grace our gatherings with more education and inspiration. We support the creation of a healthier community, state and nation. “Rawlucks” are a happenin’ thing in the northwest! Check out www.rawwashington.org if you are interested in learning more. It has become a well organized and inspiring hub of live activity and resources. Perhaps you’d like to consider hosting something in your area? For Aric and myself, it began as a “let’s try this and see if we like it” endeavor. I’ve been a bit surprised at how this offering has flourished here and touched people’s lives, including my own. It has been an honor and a blessing to watch these evenings unfold in our home. It has also been an honor to share with you this year some of my thoughts and feelings about this transformational way of life. It is an ongoing process of learning and growing and I hope that you have gleaned even just a tidbit of something helpful for your own personal journey to ever increasing vitality and joy! THE RECIPES! The local talent for creating beautiful, delicious live and raw food recipes has grown in leaps and bounds. Some who began as novices are well on their way to gourmet! I thought I’d share with you a few of our most recent summertime hits! Some are very simple, a couple you’ll need a special piece of equipment for. Either way, you’ll have something unique, super-healthy and totally scrumptious to bring to your next picnic. Enjoy! Summer Corn and Herbs Salad 2 c Fresh, sweet corn off the cob 1 c Cucumber diced 1 c Jicama diced 1 Red Pepper diced (about ½ c) 2/3 c. Purple Tomatillos chopped ½ c Green onion or chives chopped 2/3 c Arugula chopped (small) 3 T Basil minced 3 T Cilantro minced 1 T Mint minced 1/3 c Lime 2 T Flax oil 2 T Olive oil Jalepeno chili pepper powder (a small pinch or to taste) 2/3 tsp Sea salt Combine all veggies together in a large mixing bowl. Add oil and salt, mix to coat ingredients well. Add the lime juice and herbs. Toss and let this marinate for up to 8 hours before serving. Makes great leftovers as the tastes continue to mingle and are more blended. Curried Spinach Soup 2 c. spinach 1 c. young thai coconut meat 3 mint leaves 1 T chickpea miso 1 T nama shoyu 2 limes juiced 2 tsp fenugreek 1 tsp curry powder Contents of 4 cardamom pods Chives or spring onion chopped for garnish Sea salt to taste Blend all ingredients together, except garnish, in a blender or vitamix until smooth. Chill or serve immediately. Coconut Ice Cream 2 c. coconut milk 2 c. coconut meat 1/4 c. agave 1/4 c. coconut butter pinch of salt 1 t. lime juice Blend well in a Vitamix. Freeze mixture in ice cube trays or process in an ice cream making machine according to manufacturer’s directions. Fudged Balls 2 c. raw carob powder and or raw cacao powder 5 c coconut flakes 1 1/3 c. light Agave nectar 4 c walnuts A pinch or two of salt Place all coconut flakes in a food processor, and blend until creamy. This can take some time and require breaks for the machine to cool down. Keep with it, the creamy version makes all the difference! Add the carob and/or cacao and blend again. Add the agave and salt next and blend. Add the walnuts last and blend until the walnuts are mixed in well and chopped small. Take a measuring teaspoon or a melon baller and scoop out mixture, form into ball shape and place on a platter that will fit in your refriderator, lined with wax paper. Let the balls chill for about an hour…take out and try not to eat them all at once! Should be enough for a good sized party! MORE From Aimee Kelly Spencer Ahh, Spring. A growing fountain of sensation surges from the serenity of my winter-fed mind. I step outside these mornings and revel at our northwest landscape with its now sunlit white caps and endless buds of color. Old friends emerge and give hugs with renewed enthusiasm. My ability to feel what is possible in life is stimulated by simple moments; with a whiff of a soft salty breeze that smells of pollen and sunlight. By January most local harvests of seem to have come to a halt and since then I’ve been eating lots of soup, rice and various cooked delights. Although I’ve felt strong and well insulated for winter, my body now feels a bit puffy and weighed down. But today I felt a flutter of excitement as I nibbled on a few stems of chickweed. My body is pulsing and I feel it as a powerful YES! to my food of choice. Do you ever get that? Not the yes for chocolate or a favorite food, but a cellular sigh of relief and delight that fills the moment you feed yourself something totally rejuvenating. I know that now is the time to start letting my body reach for its springtime nutrition…the bright, clean, clear tastes… as opposed to my winter reflexes reaching for richer foods. On my walks I am looking around for miners lettuce and chickweed…I am planning a harvest of nettles out on Cappy’s trails. For my birthday I planted a strawberry patch with friends and by the time you read this I will have sown seeds for a “greens garden” with arugula, kale, lettuces and cabbages. I’m craving salads full of wild lambsquarters and edible flowers like violets and nasturium… I want to eat spring. Truly “eating spring” can have a wonderful effect on your body: Cleansing. Spring cleanses are as natural a phenomenon as a snake shedding its skin. It can happen almost without effort, just follow the “yes” of your very smart cells – they want to eat spring too and especially the color of the season: GREEN! Why would you want to cleanse your body? Why do we spring clean our house? We rid the accumulation of things no longer needed, we scrub the surfaces and nooks until they shine with some of their original brilliance. The main principle behind a cleansing diet is to give our organs and tissues a rest from the daily “grind” of constant and complex digestion, a rest from keeping up with detoxifying the many toxins we expose ourselves to every day. The result of both is the same: clarity of mind and spirit; the body and the home become a joy to be in, to move around in. If you consume an abundance of fresh, organic and wild spring greens it may alone constitute a gentle cleanse. A few more simple changes can make for better results. Leave out sugar. Take a break from all processed foods. Give cooked grains – especially flours – a rest. If you are inclined toward more dramatic results, there are more thorough cleanses to look into. I am always a fan of the simple cleanse and occasionally will feel the need for a facilitated, more intensive experience. This spring I’m motivated because I want the energy to ride more on my bike, give 10 sessions of bodywork and take four Nia classes a week, garden, sing, teach…and play on the beach and in the woods…and more! I happen to know that for me, a good cleanse or two in the spring will jump start my enthusiasm for good eating habits and facilitate my energetic capacity for the months to come. A couple great books to reference on cleansing are Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko and Lifefood Recipe Book by Annie and David Jubb. We have wonderful practitioners in town to help guide you through a cleanse as well. Give us a call and we can refer you to who we think might be a good fit. When we are ready to cleanse in our home, we eat simply. We eat many mono meals that consist of one food only. We eat vegetables that grow above the ground, that are green and we don’t cook them. We eat wild foods. We eat the highest quality oils – virgin coconut oil, cold pressed, unfiltered olive oil, flax oil. We eat lemons and pears. We use celtic sea salt and apple cider vinegar. We soak all our nuts and seeds and never mix them with fruit or our soaked, sprouted grains. We supplement with a mineral green drink. We get fresh air and exercise and drink lots of water. This becomes more of a lifestyle for us during the warm seasons. It can also be a simple way to clean out for a few weeks. What do YOU want to have the energy to do this spring? The coming months are truly the height of Gaia’s Kitchen…don’t miss out, she’s the best chef there ever was. A cleansing Morning drink: Electrolyte Smoothie Blend the following 3 lemons juiced (with some pith/rind optional) 1-2 pear 2-3 T Flax oil or coconut oil Flax seeds ground in a spice or coffee grinder Stevia (the amount depends on the type you have and how sweet you want it. If your pears are very ripe and sweet, you may not need much at all.) Pinch or two of celtic sea salt 3-4 cups of water A cleansing spring salad: Gaia’s Kitchen Salad The Salad Wash and prepare the following in bite size pieces, or leave whole: Miners Lettuce, Chickweed, Dandelion leaves, Lambsquarters, Spinach Chives or green onions, chopped The Dressing ½ c. Fresh Nettles ½ c. water ¼ c. Apple cider vinegar ½ c. Olive oil 1 T Nama Shoyu 1 clove Garlic ½ tsp Honey Blend together well Coat the spring greens thoroughly, but lightly. Toss on some hemp seeds for added protein. Here’s a fun nugget: 1 pound of Lambsquarters and Kale have been found to have a richer amino acid complex (aka protein), when eaten together, than what the US RDA recommends for an average adult! If you are wondering how you could ever consume that much, read Green For Life or go to our website: www.bodyalive-center.com for information, updates on classes, pictures and links. The Blue Star Gazette Your guide to an naturally inspired, magical lifestyle Brought to you by a community of those involved in the healing arts. Please contact the authors and sponsors of the Blue Star Gazette on-line (www.the bluestargazette.net) and tell them you saw their work here! Don't miss an issue! Subscribe and receive each edition for only $21. Just send your editor an email and we'll get it set jai@earthdancepress.com. Feel free to call me at the office at 360-379-blue(2583).

Summertime Is the Perfect
Time to Try Raw!

By Aimee Kelly Spencer

This past Sunday I met a new, local organic farmer who told us about how rhubarb is most commonly reproduced today by a method known as “tissue culture” or cloning. Hmmm, what on earth is that?! Sounds like something to investigate. Where did I meet this interesting man? At a rawluck.

The Peninsula is not a new spot for fans of raw and live food to hang out. Many groups, clubs, social events, healing centers have formed here in support of the benefits of eating a life-foods lifestyle. Some have remained quiet and private, some reaching out to all who might be interested. It is those efforts that have inspired me to pursue my path to health. This year BodyAlive! and Body and Soul Yoga Studio have joined energies in Port Townsend and have been hosting Sunday night “rawlucks” (usually known as potluck or potlatch) three out of four weekends every month. These regular gatherings have provided attendee’s with an abundance of organic, healthy food, great recipes, excellent conversation and networking, birthday celebrations, and occasionally some dancing and music! Every night is different – new people, new food…and it has, to me, always felt perfect. We often take a moment to gaze in awe at the decadent feast that we co-created. Each dish glows with the love and care that the individual who made it poured into its creation.

We have folks who are brand-new to creating raw/live foods…usually someone has given them some help with what to bring…and we have 100%, 8 years running raw foodists, 20% raw fans and everything in between! What we have in common is a willingness to share a very special kind of meal and experience reverence for the gifts of this choice.

When you change or consider changing something as fundamental as how you eat, there is a lot that can come up – questions, doubt, loneliness… and “rawlucks” serve to ease the path in all these ways. The benefits are many: We learn more about the raw/live life. We feel encouraged and inspired to try making new dishes. We feel supported in choosing a healthy, “live-it” lifestyle. We meet warm-hearted people with their own interesting, personal stories and approaches to their relationship with food. We organize bulk purchases to save time and money. We enjoy occasional guest speakers and guest artists who grace our gatherings with more education and inspiration. We support the creation of a healthier community, state and nation.

“Rawlucks” are a happenin’ thing in the northwest! Check out www.rawwashington.org if you are interested in learning more. It has become a well organized and inspiring hub of live activity and resources. Perhaps you’d like to consider hosting something in your area? For Aric and myself, it began as a “let’s try this and see if we like it” endeavor. I’ve been a bit surprised at how this offering has flourished here and touched people’s lives, including my own. It has been an honor and a blessing to watch these evenings unfold in our home.

It has also been an honor to share with you this year some of my thoughts and feelings about this transformational way of life. It is an ongoing process of learning and growing and I hope that you have gleaned even just a tidbit of something helpful for your own personal journey to ever increasing vitality and joy!

THE RECIPES!
The local talent for creating beautiful, delicious live and raw food recipes has grown in leaps and bounds. Some who began as novices are well on their way to gourmet! I thought I’d share with you a few of our most recent summertime hits! Some are very simple, a couple you’ll need a special piece of equipment for. Either way, you’ll have something unique, super-healthy and totally scrumptious to bring to your next picnic. Enjoy!

Summer Corn
and Herbs Salad
2 c Fresh, sweet corn off the cob
1 c Cucumber diced
1 c Jicama diced
1 Red Pepper diced (about ½ c)
2/3 c. Purple Tomatillos chopped
½ c Green onion or chives chopped
2/3 c Arugula chopped (small)
3 T Basil minced
3 T Cilantro minced
1 T Mint minced
1/3 c Lime
2 T Flax oil
2 T Olive oil
Jalepeno chili pepper powder (a small pinch or to taste)
2/3 tsp Sea salt
Combine all veggies together in a large mixing bowl. Add oil and salt, mix to coat ingredients well. Add the lime juice and herbs. Toss and let this marinate for up to 8 hours before serving. Makes great leftovers as the tastes continue to mingle and are more blended.

Curried Spinach Soup
2 c. spinach
1 c. young thai coconut meat
3 mint leaves
1 T chickpea miso
1 T nama shoyu
2 limes juiced
2 tsp fenugreek
1 tsp curry powder
Contents of 4 cardamom pods
Chives or spring onion chopped for garnish
Sea salt to taste
Blend all ingredients together, except garnish, in a blender or vitamix until smooth. Chill or serve immediately.

Coconut Ice Cream
2 c. coconut milk
2 c. coconut meat
1/4 c. agave
1/4 c. coconut butter
pinch of salt
1 t. lime juice

Blend well in a Vitamix. Freeze mixture in ice cube trays or process in an ice cream making machine according to manufacturer’s directions.

Fudged Balls
2 c. raw carob powder and or raw cacao powder
5 c coconut flakes
1 1/3 c. light Agave nectar
4 c walnuts
A pinch or two of salt
Place all coconut flakes in a food processor, and blend until creamy. This can take some time and require breaks for the machine to cool down. Keep with it, the creamy version makes all the difference! Add the carob and/or cacao and blend again. Add the agave and salt next and blend. Add the walnuts last and blend until the walnuts are mixed in well and chopped small. Take a measuring teaspoon or a melon baller and scoop out mixture, form into ball shape and place on a platter that will fit in your refriderator, lined with wax paper. Let the balls chill for about an hour…take out and try not to eat them all at once! Should be enough for a good sized party!

MORE From Aimee Kelly Spencer

Ahh, Spring. A growing fountain of sensation surges from the serenity of my winter-fed mind. I step outside these mornings and revel at our northwest landscape with its now sunlit white caps and endless buds of color. Old friends emerge and give hugs with renewed enthusiasm. My ability to feel what is possible in life is stimulated by simple moments; with a whiff of a soft salty breeze that smells of pollen and sunlight.

By January most local harvests of seem to have come to a halt and since then I’ve been eating lots of soup, rice and various cooked delights. Although I’ve felt strong and well insulated for winter, my body now feels a bit puffy and weighed down.

But today I felt a flutter of excitement as I nibbled on a few stems of chickweed. My body is pulsing and I feel it as a powerful YES! to my food of choice. Do you ever get that? Not the yes for chocolate or a favorite food, but a cellular sigh of relief and delight that fills the moment you feed yourself something totally rejuvenating. I know that now is the time to start letting my body reach for its springtime nutrition…the bright, clean, clear tastes… as opposed to my winter reflexes reaching for richer foods.

On my walks I am looking around for miners lettuce and chickweed…I am planning a harvest of nettles out on Cappy’s trails. For my birthday I planted a strawberry patch with friends and by the time you read this I will have sown seeds for a “greens garden” with arugula, kale, lettuces and cabbages. I’m craving salads full of wild lambsquarters and edible flowers like violets and nasturium… I want to eat spring.

Truly “eating spring” can have a wonderful effect on your body: Cleansing. Spring cleanses are as natural a phenomenon as a snake shedding its skin. It can happen almost without effort, just follow the “yes” of your very smart cells – they want to eat spring too and especially the color of the season: GREEN!

Why would you want to cleanse your body? Why do we spring clean our house? We rid the accumulation of things no longer needed, we scrub the surfaces and nooks until they shine with some of their original brilliance. The main principle behind a cleansing diet is to give our organs and tissues a rest from the daily “grind” of constant and complex digestion, a rest from keeping up with detoxifying the many toxins we expose ourselves to every day. The result of both is the same: clarity of mind and spirit; the body and the home become a joy to be in, to move around in.

If you consume an abundance of fresh, organic and wild spring greens it may alone constitute a gentle cleanse. A few more simple changes can make for better results. Leave out sugar. Take a break from all processed foods. Give cooked grains – especially flours – a rest. If you are inclined toward more dramatic results, there are more thorough cleanses to look into.
I am always a fan of the simple cleanse and occasionally will feel the need for a facilitated, more intensive experience. This spring I’m motivated because I want the energy to ride more on my bike, give 10 sessions of bodywork and take four Nia classes a week, garden, sing, teach…and play on the beach and in the woods…and more! I happen to know that for me, a good cleanse or two in the spring will jump start my enthusiasm for good eating habits and facilitate my energetic capacity for the months to come.

A couple great books to reference on cleansing are Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko and Lifefood Recipe Book by Annie and David Jubb. We have wonderful practitioners in town to help guide you through a cleanse as well. Give us a call and we can refer you to who we think might be a good fit.

When we are ready to cleanse in our home, we eat simply. We eat many mono meals that consist of one food only. We eat vegetables that grow above the ground, that are green and we don’t cook them. We eat wild foods. We eat the highest quality oils – virgin coconut oil, cold pressed, unfiltered olive oil, flax oil. We eat lemons and pears. We use celtic sea salt and apple cider vinegar. We soak all our nuts and seeds and never mix them with fruit or our soaked, sprouted grains. We supplement with a mineral green drink. We get fresh air and exercise and drink lots of water. This becomes more of a lifestyle for us during the warm seasons. It can also be a simple way to clean out for a few weeks. What do YOU want to have the energy to do this spring?

The coming months are truly the height of Gaia’s Kitchen…don’t miss out, she’s the best chef there ever was.

A cleansing Morning drink:
Electrolyte Smoothie
Blend the following
3 lemons juiced (with some pith/rind optional)
1-2 pear
2-3 T Flax oil or coconut oil
Flax seeds ground in a spice or coffee grinder
Stevia (the amount depends on the type you have and how sweet you want it. If your pears are very ripe and sweet, you may not need much at all.)
Pinch or two of celtic sea salt
3-4 cups of water

A cleansing spring salad:
Gaia’s Kitchen Salad
The Salad
Wash and prepare the following in bite size pieces, or leave whole: Miners Lettuce, Chickweed, Dandelion leaves, Lambsquarters, Spinach
Chives or green onions, chopped
The Dressing
½ c. Fresh Nettles
½ c. water
¼ c. Apple cider vinegar
½ c. Olive oil
1 T Nama Shoyu
1 clove Garlic
½ tsp Honey
Blend together well
Coat the spring greens thoroughly, but lightly. Toss on some hemp seeds for added protein.

Here’s a fun nugget:
1 pound of Lambsquarters and Kale have been found to have a richer amino acid complex (aka protein), when eaten together, than what the US RDA recommends for an average adult! If you are wondering how you could ever consume that much, read Green For Life or go to our website:
www.bodyalive-center.com for information, updates on classes, pictures and links.

The Blue Star Gazette

Your guide to an naturally inspired, magical lifestyle

Brought to you by a community of those involved in the healing arts. Please contact the authors and sponsors of the Blue Star Gazette on-line (www.the bluestargazette.net) and tell them you saw their work here! Don't miss an issue! Subscribe and receive each edition for only $21. Just send your editor an email and we'll get it set jai@earthdancepress.com. Feel free to call me at the office at 360-379-blue(2583).