A couple of days ago, The Raw Divas’ Sisterhood enjoyed a super-inspiring call with Ironman, author of The Thrive Diet: The Whole Food Way to Lose Weight, Reduce Stress, and Stay Healthy for Life and raw food super star, Brendan Brazier.

The call was so full of amazing ideas and inspiration, that we’ve decided to share it with our whole community.

Listen in to the recording of the call to hear Brendan and Tera talk about meal planning in advance, simple raw food for kids, and the importance of looking after yourself first in order to look after others.

Can you believe he spends about 4 hours A YEAR to make snacks?! What mother wouldn’t want to know this guy’s tricks of the trade. Fortunately, even though he’s designed his own brand of powerfoods and ready-to-go sports drinks and bars, he’s included all his basic recipes in his book, The THRIVE Diet. 

In this interview he also reveals much of what he’s got planned to release in his upcoming book, as well! A not-to-be-missed inspirational book for people seeking health, fitness and fun at their own pace!

Brendan also has spent upwards of 250 days a year on the road, so if you ever thought it wasn’t possible to be raw on the go, then think again, and definitely listen to this call.

There are a ton of resources available on his website: www.brendanbrazier.com.

You could literally spend hours just reading all the questions he’s taken the time to answer on his site about nutrition, fitness, different degenerative illness and healthy eating.

Enjoy this fantastic interview here!

Every month in the Sisterhood we have 3-4 incredible special guests. We have been sharing a few of these calls with other readers to give you a taste of what we’re up to!

Who knew this 32 year old bachelor would have so much inspiration for women and mothers! And I must say that now being a published author and super inspiring businessman, Ironman Superhero is just one of his claims to fame!

Thanks, Brendan! It was a treat connecting with you and we wish you all the best in your Thriving adventures!

Muah!

The Raw Divas

…and now it seems her computer is enforcing one! That’s right… poor Tera’s computer went for the long sleep tonight. We aren’t sure if it will be coming back or just end up being replaced, but for now, Tera is officially offline!

So, that means if you have recently emailed Tera, she is thinking of you fondly, but won’t be able to reply until she gets sorted out. In the meantime, all of her email will be directed to me (and I thought I was busy already), so anything urgent will definitely be seen and handled.

Tera… if you find yourself at an internet cafe, reading this message… take your spanking from the universe to heart and go enjoy some soon to be melting snow flakes and rosy-cheeked fun with your family! We’ll still be here when you get back!

Wow.

I’ve really been blown away by the effects of this Master Cleanse and have been learning sooo much about detox and how simple life can really be.

I could never have pulled off this kind of adventure on a water fast given my lifestyle.

Earlier this year I started by really simplifying my meals and coming back to just one food at a time. That was fun, and I learned a lot. Experienced some great benefits and now have just taken it up a notch to the level of cleansing, not just simplification.

Amy and I just finished putting together the materials for our upcoming 14 Day Monomeal Cleanse. Participants of our Diva’s Guide to Cravings and Emotional Eating program are in for a treat, because this adventure really is going to do so much to help people who are struggling with:

overeating
cravings
emotional eating
late night eating

Whether you’re participating in the program with us, or not, I can’t recommend enough, the importance of simplifying things in order to increase your personal power. I mean, sometimes we just get so distracted by everything that is coming and going these days.

Make your food your meditation if you’re not taking the time to still your thoughts now and again.

Just pick up an apple, or two or three or four. And when you don’t want any more apples, well, then you’ve had your meal, so get on with your day.

Many of us have years and years of ingrained emotional eating habits to overcome. Some days it feels like it takes more than just will power, it takes brute strength and determination to apply the lifestyle choices we believe serve us the best.

When you eliminate a whole lot of variables and distractions, life instantly reveals itself as the simple, enjoyable adventure it is.

With that, I’m off for more lemonade!

Cayenne kisses,
Tera

Whoooa. This week’s Health In High Heels took me a looong time, but it’s definitely our best issue ever, loaded with juicy tips, treats and exciting announcments. One of which is the fact that this beauty to your left has finally come out of the electronic closet after two years of awaiting her release.

Raw Mom. Amy, as always, did an amazing job with the design, and we’ve been really blessed to have some marvelous contributors to this project. Do take the time to peek and see what’s happening here. Especially if you’re a mom with little ones. You will find so much support, inspiration and nifty tips as we grow and develop the project.

The other little project that is bootin’ along just fine, is our Lemonade Cleanse Blog. You can check it  out here, and if I get the chance to update it, there will be some lemony pictures and juicy news about what today was like for me! I am officially DETOXING. But I’m not the only one. Pop in and peep from time to time, there are more lemon lovers coming on board as we speak…

So, just a little note then, to let you know what’s shaking. This week’s Health in High Heels really was put together with lots of love and we hope that it brings you something useful and inspiring. It’s the kind of issue you’ll want to come back and read again and again to check out the little stuff you’ve missed

You can check out it here, in case you missed it!

Humpf.

Spoiled again on Day Two of my lemony adventures, but since I’d prefer to keep my personal ranting to a minimum on this blog, I’ll be taking it up here in much juicier detail on my new lemonade cleanse blog. If you’re doing the cleanse, I’ll give you your own page to post and share your experiences with others.

The call with Peter Glickman was more than inspiring. I really want to give the Master Cleanse a chance and will explain more about what’s not working for me on my lemony blog.

In some ways, it’s not a surprise I flunked again.

The other night I looked up through my kitchen window and the full moon was tugging on my molecules like CRAZY! She was just sitting there looking at be and bright as can be. This morning I woke up to discover her pull had done its job.

My “moon cycle” arrived to remind me of my youth and “creative ability”.

I mean, just think about what the moon does to oceans, as if it wouldn’t affect little ol’ 5′ 7″ me.

Ha!

I don’t know why, but since diving into my raw adventures, EVERY, EVERY, EVERY moon cycle is preceeded by an evening of insatiable, compulsive, over-indulgent FAT consumption. It’s like the gas needed to start the engine.

My cycles are very normal. The only way I have to predict that it’s coming is this fat binge, but I rarely figure it out until the next morning when I realize… DOH! She got me again! I call it a moon cycle… because I want to. And while I get all the physiology, my cycle is unquestionably linked to the cycles of the moon and the emotional state of my closest girlfriends.

In fact, my research in university was on primates, and I did an extensive independent study on menstrual cycle synchronization in human and non-human primates. Fascinating stuff, “la lune”.

I have no excuse for this self-indulgent rant, other than some hormonally induced, astrologically inspired, detoxification of thought. Maybe that’s what it’ll take before I finally make this lemony adventure take its hold on me.

Anyway, you, too, are under the gravitational pull of Madame Moon, and if you still your body and thoughts enough, you might just feel it sometimes. Like the tides of an ocean, the cycles and rhythms of life move within us…right down to our breath and the very heart that beats within our chests.

It moves through all of us, so remember that when you hold bitterness, resentment or hostility toward someone.
As divided as we may seem sometimes, we all look up at night to the same moon in our sky. We’re all susceptible to her charms, her pull.

Next time you peek at her, know I’ve tucked away a few raspberry kisses and parsley hugs up there for you, so be sure to take them the next time you need a boost.

With that, I’m off for more exciting homeschooling adventures. Today we map earth’s time line along the hallway corridor and learn about mammals.

Loving thoughts on moon beams wherever you are in the world,

xox

Tera

The thing I’m trying to hande with this cleanse is some late night eating patterns. And a successful CLEANSE! Last night’s call with Peter Glickman ranks as one of my most inspiring interviews EVER. It was truly PACKED with very valuable information about detox, weight loss, cravings and cleansing. I wasn’t expecting it to be THAT good, but it was truly one of the best calls I’ve ever heard! WOW! It’s not too late to register for the Sisterhood and take advantage of this call! It will sell later separately for more than the cost of membership to the Sisterhood.

(IMPORTANT NOTE: For those who didn’t notice, we set up a $5 trial for the Sisterhood. But that offer will end at the end of February. This is the only place you’ll find access to that link, and we’ll be editing this little special note out of this lemondae message in 9 days. It’s a way of thanking our blog readers for their interest and support!)

So, time for the confessional!

*sigh*

I am not successfully sticking to this, and there is only ONE reason.

Just one lonely little reason. And if I handled this one little thing, I would revolutionize what health means for me, and I’m sure I would succeed with this cleansing experience.

It’s sleep.

I just need to go to bed before 11:00.

The last two nights in a row, I’ve sabotaged my own cleansing process, because it’s like my alter ego sneaks out at 11:0opm.

As I should have known, however, it all falls under the umbrella of destiny’s greater plan (or my higher plan, however you like to look at it).

Besides the fact that I love starting things on even numbers, and today is the 20th of February, I also got an email from a dear friend and founding Raw Diva, who is in need of a good internal scrubbing, too.

So, I have a buddy in this lemony adventure. And she’ll be sending along her upates, too. But, in the interests of keeping the Diva Blog Pure and free of detox grumblings, we’ll probably start a new one where we share our lemony rants and detox manifestations. I’ll let you know about that a bit later, because I’ve gotta run it by the boss, first.

I’m excited about doing this, and I’m looking forward to the process. So… today’s my second Day One. And as I said to my dear friend, Katy, sometimes we have to stumble so we really appreciate how good it feels to fly.

If anyone catches me writing an email, or posting a message, or being on the forum after 11:00, take off 10 points and tell me I’m BUSTED!

Okay, off for some homeschooling adventures with lemonade and a clear conscious, lots of hopeful determination packed in my pocket.

All my lemony love and hugs,

Tera

p.s.

I ordered my Diva Ionizer and I am SOOOOOOOOOOO excited. I can’t wait to feel the difference of drinking alkaline water.

We’re so excited about what this evolution in health can offer the world, that we’ve got yet another diva website where you can learn ALL about why alkaline water makes the most sense for long term, overall health.

My last roommate had an ionizer, and it was night and day in terms of taste and quality. I’ve not felt the same since. Also, last night’s interview with Peter Glickman, really reinforced the importance of drinking quality water.

*I can’t wait till it comes! Expect pictures and more personal experiments!!*

I’m going to do that darned lemonade cleanse. You know, the “Master Cleanse.”

The first time I heard about it I was working in a health food store in Calgary, and one of my co-workers had been on it for a loooong time. He looked amazing and felt great.

I’ve always been rather prone to subjecting myself to experimentation, deprivation and extremism of one kind or another. Maybe it’s the hair? A redhead, single, homeschooling, rawfoodist, self-employed mother with some highly unusual spiritual ideas about the world, admittedly puts me in a minority. Anyway, regardless of the weirdness behind me, there are a few things I know for sure, and they look like this:

Recently, I received a few emails from clients asking me about the Master Cleanse. Enough that I decided I better look into this and inform myself a bit more fully.

Here’s what I “think” about the cleanse:

Well, I don’t necessarily “agree” with it as an idea. I mean, it’s really just maple syrup and cayenne pepper and lemon juice with water.

First of all, maple syrup is cooked.

Cayenne pepper is an irritant, as far as I’m concerned.

And lemon juice… well, I wouldn’t just eat lemons, so why eat lemon juice, right?

WRONG!!

You see, I sat down and made the concoction myself the other day and I liked it A LOT!! Not just a little bit, I actually liked it A LOT! And it made me feel GOOD! Sometimes that’s the only judge I need to determine the value of something in my life. Sometimes “thinking” things to death has only gotten me into trouble or left me feeling lost. Nothing like learning by doing.

I’ve done enough human experiments and trial and error projects on myself that I know some thing just DON’T work. I know my body and how I respond to things.

Anyway, to get one up on the wagon, I decided to get in touch with Peter Glickman, author of this little book here featured on the right of the page. In fact, he’s going to be our guest tomorrow night as part of the Sisterhood, so you better believe I’m going to be asking him all the questions I can possibly ask him about this process. He wrote a book designed to support people through the Master Cleanse and respond to many of the unanswered questions he felt people had about this cleanse.

Here’s what I “know” about myself:

I’m a lousy faster.

In fact, one year, I decided that I was FINALLY going to do a 3 day fast. I had tried and tried and tried for years, but never got more than a day and a half. For me, a fast is WATER! That’s it. Anything else is a cleanse of some kind. Anyway, I had always wanted to do a 3 day fast, but never managed to do it because with kids, and working and stuff on the go, I just couldn’t pull it off.

So, I rented a room at a spa one year for my birthday. Just me.

First of all, a spa by yourself isn’t that much fun.

And fasting by yourself at a spa is even less fun.

I had my computer with me, probably a mistake, looking back. I should have just rested, or something. Anyway, I was happy, because I accomplished some amazing cleansing out of my computer’s files. But as for the experience itself, I HATED being alone and I just wanted to go home and EAT!!

*sigh*

So, it was a lousy experience, and I kinda gave up on fasting outside of the occasional 24 hour fast.

But I still wouldn’t mind that feeling of extended “cleansing,” though.

I know a lot of people are doing “juice feasting” but I’m missing a piece to my juicer, and I can’t bring myself to do it because I have a bit of a button on all the lost fiber. Call me an “indoctrinated natural hygenist,” if you will, but I’m not indoctrinated enough, obviously, because I’m going to give this lemonade thing a fair chance.

*sigh*

And to be honest, I’ve been having a rough go lately.

Nothing dramatic, just not feeling my bubbly best. Divas can be drama queens, as I’m sure you know. So, I’d really like something to recharge me and get me back on track. When you make your living recharging others and helping them get back on track, it’s hard to know where to turn when your own steam starts running low. And I’m not going to pretend for a minute that I don’t have rough days or weeks, because I sure as heck do.

So, for the next 10 days *GULP!* (Did I just say that?) I’ll be sipping back lemonade and limeade and seeing how that goes.

*Gulp*

And just the fact that I’ve said that gets a big ball of nerves all gopped up in my throat.

I know that I sure do like this lemonade. And I sure do need a bit of a boost from the ordinary to get me feeling my frisky little self again. Soo.. that’s the book. Lemonade is the name of the game.

And once I get through this, I’m starting my MARATHON TRAINING PROGRAM.

Darn tootin’. I’m gonna strap back on sneakers and I’m excited about it!
Okay… so that’s me. Comin’ out of the closet with lemons in my pocket. I’ll keep ya posted and I’ll try not to make it too self-indulgent.;-)

Imagine my surprise when on Christmas morning I went to take a few snapshots aroung the Christmas tree and my camera was busted.

First of all, I have to confess that I’m not great at organizing things like that. This camera was a birthday gift in August from my mom–well, the money to buy it. But I didn’t actually manage to get organized enough to get it until late November. Naturally, I wasn’t very impressed when the thing just stopped working on Christmas morning of all morning. I’m secretly suspicious of a 4 year old, because there were an awful lot of pictures of feet and floors in there when I looked last.

However, I didn’t observe any major accidents, so reported it in for warranty to a scruffy-haired, bulgey-eyed customer service representative at the camera shop.

But I left the store grumbling a bit, because he was very doubtful that given the problems, it would be covered under warranty. They said it would be a couple weeks before I knew what their diagnosis was, because they were sending it back in to the manufacturer.

I so don’t like little annoyances like that.

Well, apparently, I’ve got some camera karma banked somewhere, because a couple days later, I  get a call from the camera shop and they tell me that the delivery man, who was supposed to deliver my camera to the manufacturer, LOST my camera!

HA! HA!

And that by default they would give me a new one at no cost.

Well,  then I was smiling.

So, I went in to pick up my camera, and they pulled out a little box and inside was a small black camera. I gasped and said, “but MY camera was PINK!”

I returned it saying I absolutely must have a pink one, because the case I bought was green and the two together are exactly the colors of my website. I was very serious about this, and I could see about 4-5 agents behind the counter giggling to themselves that it actually mattered to me to have a PINK camera.

ARE YOU KIDDING!??

I mean, one of my greatest joys in life is color coordinating. I have little woolen socks that match the teal colored patches in my snow suit and when I wear them with my teal colored neck warmer, I smile twice as wide as any other day of the weak. I mean, they’re my socks. No one sees them but me.

I digress. Sorry.

Well, they took back that dull black camera and the very next day called me in to tell me my pink beauty was ready.

And so she is: 

And just in time for our Green Smoothie Queen 3 Day Challenge which starts up on Monday!  If you were going to register, we’re closing down registrations really soon, and then next one will be in a month or so around St. Patrick’s Day.

Stay tuned cuz this blog’s about to have a lot more pictures. And no feet or floors, if I have anything to say about it.

How long can you go with eating fruits and green smoothies with little fat for?

Answer:
Here’s the skinny on fat.

Question: How long can you go with eating fruits and green smoothies with little fat in the diet? Lets take a look at some facts first.

There is a lot of different information out there on fats. Here is a few examples:

How much good fat should we use daily?

According to Udo Erasmus about 15% of calories from good fats is a minimum, 10% might be too low. But the quality of the fats you eat is much more important than the quantity.

According to the Dietary Reference Intakes published by the USDA 20% – 35% of calories should come from fat.

According to some Raw Foodists about 9-13% of your total body weight should be fat if you are a guy and for a girl about 12-19%. The average Olympic ‘Cardiovascular’ Athlete’s body fat ranges from 8-12%.

So who’s right? Think about it! In the meantime let’s look at why we need fat in the diet.

Why Do We Need Fat to Survive?

Although fats have received a bad reputation for causing weight gain, some fat (like linoleic and linolenic acids) is essential for survival. We need these fats for the following:

Normal growth and development
Energy (fat is the most concentrated source of energy)
Absorbing certain vitamins ( like vitamins A, D, E, K, and carotenoids)
Providing cushioning for the organs
Maintaining cell membranes
Helps in the prevention of cholesterol build-up and hardening of the arteries.
Provides healthy hair and skin
Contributes to normal glandular activity
Essential fats cannot be manufactured in the body

Essential Fatty Acids (Vitamin F) can be found in nuts and seeds (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds and their oils, walnuts, almonds, cashews, pecans, pistachios, and coconut), fruit (avocados, olives), spinach, seaweeds, parsley, and broccoli.

By replacing saturated and trans fats in the (SAD) diet with unsaturated fat, (found in foods like olives, avocados, nuts, and seeds) has been shown decrease the risk of developing heart disease.

The Importance of Fat Cells

Once upon a time, experts believed fat cells were no more than inert tissues that merely stored energy, enlarged extremities and generally got in the way of people trying to move around. Popular opinions have changed, however, thanks to the intense interest in fat in order to find solutions to the obesity crisis.

Experts are realizing fat cells are dynamic and complex structures that affect many crucial bodily functions. These new insights are helping scientists better understand:

• How fat forms on bodies
• Why it hangs on so long
• How it causes disease

Fat cells work to dispatch many potent signals to tissues throughout the body, including reproductive organs, the brain, liver and immune system.

Fat does a great many things, far beyond regulating a body’s energy system and creating new fat cells:

Turns the body’s immune system up or down
Influences blood clots and when blood vessels constrict
Regulates when a women can reproduce

Some scientists theorize there are dozens more functions waiting to be discovered, including a few that may affect mood and behavior beyond eating and hunger.

Opinions began to change a decade ago when scientists identified leptin, the hormone produced by fat cells, that tells the brain a number of things, including how much fat a body has. The discovery of leptin also created a way of looking at fat as an endocrine organ not unlike the thyroid and adrenal glands.

Part of that complex communication systems between fat and other organs is adiponectin, a hormone that lowers the production of blood glucose in the liver and increases muscle burning to make energy. Scientists say this hormone also affects the sensitivity of cells to insulin, which may explain how obesity increases one’s risk of diabetes.

After the importance of adiponectin was recognized, scientists found resistin, (another fat cell hormone) that may play an important role in storing energy and insulin sensitivity.

Researchers have also recently discovered fat tissue is made up of much more than fat cells. In fact, fat tissue, combined with macrophages–key immune system cells–produce powerful substances that assist in regulating the body’s immune system. Some theorize that fats became closely connected to immune function over time because the body needs energy when threatened.

But a surplus of these substances, researchers say, triggers unnecessary inflammation which could explain why obesity increases the chances of many ailments like cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

There you have it. Fat is important. We need it daily to survive, these things are not in conflict, however how much we need is. But if you look at what the experts say, the amounts are very close. To play it safe, you can try to stay within the 15% range, remember we are all different (man, woman, children, big, small, tall, short) and we all have different needs. I do not believe that we all fit into the same mold, so to speak. Some of us will need more fat and some of us will do better on less. So bottom line I think that it’s safe to say that you should base how much fat you have in your diet on the facts, as well as how your body feels, trust iyour body and adjust your fat intake as your n

Peppermint Twist Foot Treatment by Tracy Neely!

Peppermint belongs to the labiatae mint family of plants.  Peppermint Essential Oil is highly regarded for soothing digestion.  It is also widely used in foot treatments to relieve sore feet.  The primary constituent of peppermint oil is menthol, which causes a physical reaction when inhaled or applied to the skin.  The essential oil is both soothing to the spirit and energizing to the body.

Personally speaking when I have had a migraine headache, I apply peppermint essential oil to my temples as well as my shoulders to relive any tension I may be feeling.

Sea salt is obtained from evaporating sea water and is harvested through ocean water into large clay trays that allow the sun and wind to evaporate it naturally

Grape seed oil is extracted from the Vitis vinifera variety of grape.  It is one of the most versatile carrier oils to use with essential oils in beauty treatments and is one of the richest natural sources of Vitamin E.  As one of the fat-soluble vitamins, Vitamin E helps retain moisture in the skin and prevents dryness.  Store grape seed oil and away from direct sunlight.

Recipe:
5 drops peppermint essential oil
1 ½ cups fine sea salt
¼ cup grape seed oil

Instructions:
Combine sea salt and grape seed oil together in a glass bowl (a plastic bowl will retain the smell of the peppermint oil)
Add 5 drops essential oil to mixture and mix well.
Massage the mixture into your ankles and feet paying close attention to any areas that need extra tender care, Rinse feet and ankles with warm water and apply your favorite foot crème.

Beauty Note: Please be careful to avoid any areas where you may have a cut on your skin. Put on a pair of cotton socks and relax as your feet feel refreshed and relaxed!