Little People With Big Things to Say: An Interview With Almost 10-Year Old Mika Botkin

I’ve interviewed a lot of incredible people in my day, but recently I had the opportunity to interview a courageous young woman about her thoughts and feelings on the subject of “raw food” and “Raw Moms”.

At the end of this short  10 minute interview, I asked Mika what advice she had for moms listening to this call. I think you’ll be pleased with her response. She certainly surprised me with her answer to the questions: “When you are a mom, what are you going to feed your kids?”

We put a lot of attention on what the grown-ups have to say about food and eating and we figured it was about time we put some attention on what the little voices have to share. The more we understand how they view their experiences with the meals and food we prepare, the better equipped we are for understanding them.

Mika has sage advice for parents, so listen in and let us know what you think of this little interview.

{mp3}MikaMom{/mp3}

More Great Stuff for Kids Coming Soon

We’re currently working on our Monkey Mike website so that kids will have more opportunities to inform themselves about fresh food and healthy living. Watch for more about that this summer.

Raw Mom Director, Fiona Hollis and Raw Mom Kristen Froelich are also working on producing a series of lesson plans that moms around the world will be able to bring to their local schools to help educate and inform school children in a fun and playful way about the importance of eating more fruits and vegetables. There are some exciting things coming, so stay tuned.

What Do Your Kids Have to Say?

If you’d like to take the time to interview your little ones and find out what BIG things they have to say, we’d love to hear from you. Whether on video, audio or even an in-print transcript of your cozy conversations. Let’s work together to understand how they feel so we can find the right tools and solutions to get the whole family on the fast track to healthy living.

Love and support,

Mika’s Mom

aka Tera

Carissa Leventis-Cox’s 3 yr old: Has his say!

How to Beat Failure and Find the Path that Works!

- By Tracy Albury

Tracy is one of our 21-Day Green Smoothie Detox program participants.  She, like many of you, is constantly dealing with the health concerns of her family.  She agreed to share her journey with us with the hope it will also be of help to someone else!

Tracy reached that point that many of us do.  She gave up.  Find out what got her back on her journey and discovering success again!  Her story is a great reminder of the gentle steps and support we all need to seek out.

Welcome to my Australian family! I have three beautiful children and a gorgeous husband. We decided to have our children close together (15 months apart) so that they could grow and play well together. Some people are very quick to say “You were keen,” or “They are close.”  Yes, there have been some crazy times, but it has been well worth it. Read more »

Go Wild With Angelina Elliott: A Teleseminar On Wild Plants and Herbs for Health and Healing

For the month of June we’ll be focusing on bringing you information about wild plants and herbs! We’ve got some exciting teleseminars and other topics planned, and we’re kicking of June with a fascinating teleseminar with Wild Woman, Angelina Elliott! Join us for an upcoming teleseminar where you can ask your biggest questions about wild foods, herbs and how to use them with Master Herbalist and my gushingly good friend, Angelina! **To access the teleseminar information for this call, please scroll down to the bottom of this article. Thank you! -T-raw

By Angelina Elliott

My days are often started in my my backyard foraging for goodies to use for my smoothies, juices, salads, and daily beauty masks. I look to nature for all my beauty needs, inside and out.

Last year, I had an amazing biodynamic garden and in it I grew gorgeous heirloom varieties of watermelon, cantaloupe, tomatoes, lettuces, herbs, squash, pole beans, cabbages, potatoes, corn, garlic, ginger, onions, blueberries, goji berries, radishes, parsnips, turnips, and medicinal herbs. We had the sweetest, most divine food I have ever tasted. This year, we decided to go wild and I am so glad we did! Although I love cultivated foods, I love wild foods even more. Wild native foods have long root systems that heal, nourish, and fortify the soil, they are stronger and hardier, completely sustainable, and the nutrients in wild plants are far superior to even the finest cultivated foods.

I delight in going into my little jungle where the wild things are! New plants come in as old plants are leaving, so a trip out in my wild garden is always a surprise. The birds, butterflies, bees, lady bugs, worms, and other wildlife appreciate the wild area as much as I do. At any given moment, I can look outside and see birds playing and eating, butterflies and hummingbirds feasting, lizards lounging, and so much more! I have had a bee sanctuary for over 4 years now. I have at least 500,000 bees and they absolutely LOVE IT HERE! We love having them here too, because they pollinate our goodies. I’ve thought about having our backyard certified as a backyard wildlife Sanctuary, as we definitely qualify! We have Mexican parrots that eat fruit and poop trees in our yard. We now have three gourmet varieties of loquat, thanks to you lovely Parrots!

I know that if I ever cultivate my garden again, it will be even better than it was before and this time, I will keep the wilds among my cultivated plants to support, nourish, and provide shade for the cultivated plants. Did you know that wild foods use less water if any at all? Did you know that wild foods have at least 10 times more nutrients than cultivated foods? The best part about wild foods is they are FREE. Wild food gives you freedom from genetically modified organisms, pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, and fertilizers. Wild foods are bug resistant and feed the soil while they are growing, so there’s no need for the long list of supplies needed to grow conventional or even organic food. Oh and did I mention, less fuss? So you are probably wondering how to identify the wild edibles in your yard.

Here’s a little safety guideline:
To avoid potentially poisonous plants, stay away from any wild or unknown plants that have–

• Milky or discolored sap.
• Beans, bulbs, or seeds inside pods.
• Bitter or soapy taste.
• Spines, fine hairs, or thorns.
• Dill, carrot, parsnip, or parsleylike foliage.
• “Almond” scent in woody parts and leaves.
• Grain heads with pink, purplish, or black spurs.
• Three-leaved growth pattern.

Now that we’ve cleared this up, the most common wild safe edibles are:
Chickweed, catsEar, dandelion, malva, cleavers, sow thistle, lamb’s quarters, clover, mustard, nasturtiums, coo koo weed, sorrel, and nettles.

How I use the above herbs:

• I rotate my greens for my green smoothies and juices using all the above wild edibles.
• I put the above edibles in salads along with my cultivated salad greens that came back this year and a few of my tomatoes from my old garden
• I use aloe, wild sage, wild rosemary, clovers, and cleavers along with MSM, wild honey, olive oil, seaweed, and home-made coconut yogurt to make my skin masks.

I hope you will consider foraging for wild edibles. You’ll be glad you did. My energy is through the roof, well even more than it was (you all know how hyper I am), I look younger and younger, I feel so full of vitality, and my gourmet foods never tasted so good!

Lots of love
XO
Angelina

We’ve invited Angelina to tell us all about her wild garden and which plants to use for beauty, health and healing. You’re invited to attend this call for FREE and get your questions answered. The call is happening on Tuesday, June 1st at 9pm Eastern. IF for any reason you are unable to attend the call, simply click this link and you will be able to access the recording.

**THIS IS THE LINK FOR THE CALL**

Go ahead and click that link to send in your questions ahead of time!

Speak to you soon!

Something to Chew On: We Want to Rewire Your Brain!

- by Stacey Terry

hehe… I admit.  It’s Friday, and I was kinda wondering just what happy green thoughts to send you fine spinach-lovin’ folks into the weekend with.  But a little diva birdie suggested that what I should do is let you know what our new short and sweet newsletter, Something to Chew On, is all about!

Once a week we send out a green little love note to keep you both up to date and vibrant.  As I learned at a recent conference, when you’re trying to make lifestyle changes, it’s really important to build an environment that will support you.  That means finding new people, experiences, and information! It kinda makes obvious sense (at least to me) that if you don’t change what you’ve been doing or who you’re with or what you know, you’re not likely to change.  But there’s actually way more to it than I thought. Read more »

Green Cleaning this Spring!

- from EWG (Environmental Working Group)

Cleaning might be a chore, but it doesn’t have to be toxic, too! Safer products and practices are available and easy. Why not go green when you clean? Your family’s health is (naturally) worth it.

We’ll answer:

1. Why you should clean greener
2. How to choose greener cleaning supplies
3. How to clean greener at home
4. Why and how to find alternatives to in-home pesticides

Read more »

“Do you feel special?” Bring out your raw inner sparkle!

by Fiona Hollis

I was out shopping the other day, and found a gift card I got for Christmas in my purse. I was near the shop and experienced that rush of excitement, which, is no stranger to us women! Adding to the child-like wonder of this mystical retail-therapy voucher – I didn’t know how much it was for.

As soon as I entered the shop, I saw an earring and necklace set that sparkled and made me smile. As I held them up and looked in the mirror, I thought how special they would be if they were real diamonds… but I was happy I could treat myself to something pretty – so made my way to the cashier to find out if the mystical gift card would cover them.

As I skipped out of the shop, swinging my bag, I remembered shopping in that same shop with my mom as a child. How good it felt to be shopping with my mom and be bought a gift. Gifts made me feel loved, appreciated, and special.

Read more »

Green Smoothie Ripples from Mexico that Change the World

- by Alejandra Hernando

- Alejandra Hernando is an inspiring Green Smoothie Challenge participant and a Ripple Maker Award winner.  You can read how she spread the word about raw food and improved the lives and diets of children here.  And we’re delighted that she wrote to us to share how she’s been doing (her experience led her to create her own website in Mexico!!), and we’re thrilled to feature Come Frutas y Verduras (Eat Fruits and Veggies) today.  We hope you’ll share it with someone you know!  And stay tuned for our next Ripple Maker Award and free Blendtec blender contest coming up for International Green Smoothie Day! How will you change the world in your own green way?

Hi Tera,

It´s been a year since the ripple maker award and I just wanted to tell you how things are going around here.

I needed to tell you that being a ripple maker has been wonderful! It makes me feel alive and my daughter is so happy. She tells me that she was meant to do what we are doing. It gives me goosebumps but in a good way. She is so connected with her source in a way that amazes me and I know that our lifestyle helps her be in touch with herself. I know that being a raw vegan helps me be more in touch with my body, my mind and my soul. Read more »

Natural Sun Protection for Summer: An Interview with Nadine Artemis

Temperatures are rising and worried mothers everywhere are dousing their little ones with sunscreen by the bucketload! Pharmacy windows are stacked with the latest strawberry-scented, SPF-900 waterproof goop and this is all a sure sign that we are gearing up for summer, folks.

I’m always surprised by the number of people that are flat-out afraid of sun exposure, and yet, without it our health and well-being are seriously compromised.

On an interesting personal note:

My daughter, Mika, has been going through a really tough bout of psoriasis recently and we’ve been anxiously waiting for the sun to arrive and help clear things up. We do green juices and green smoothies and gluten-free foods. We do therapy and piano lessons and all the other things that help a little person feel strong and empowered and confident in the world. But we know that nothing helps Mika more with her psoriasis than sun, sweet sun!

It’s been years since I’ve put sun screen on myself or on my kids. There are other ways to soak up the sun without smothering the skin in toxic creams, lotions and potions.

Before you start smothering yourself or your loved ones with SPFs, maybe you should take the time to listen to this teleseminar with natural beauty expert, Nadine Artemis. Nadine is the co-founder of Living Libations–a project dedicated to helping others rediscover nature’s bounty for beauty. Nadine and her partner, Ron, make amazing natural body care products, perfumes and more and this month we’ve asked her to come and answer your questions about how to protect sensitive skin in the heat of the summer sun!

We’ll also talk about:

• tips and tricks to reduce wrinkling and signs of aging
• the best thing to do for your skin to keep you looking young and healthy
• non-toxic ways to protect your skin and the skin of your little ones
• naturally intoxicating ways to handle the sweaty season, so you keep your glow and smell delicious!

You can send in your questions for Nadine here! Just click this link and enter your questions in the box on the screen.

You can have fun in the sun and this call is going to help you do it with confidence!

*** Mark Your Calendars***

This call is happening at 2pm Eastern on Thurday, May 27th!

Speak to you there!

Tera

Raw Raspberry Pudding – A Summer Surprise!

- by Veronica

This delectable dish was an accidental discovery on my behalf. I had made up too much raspberry smoothie and so I put the last 1.5 cups into the fridge overnight. When I was feeling a bit peckish this afternoon I remembered it was there. YUM!!!

I’m going to do this more often, and especially when it’s summer (it’s winter in Australia, but this will be a great summer treat for many of you!). This is also a great way to get lots of greens in when you aren’t used to them because you can’t even taste the greens in this raw food recipe. If you don’t tell your friends or family that you added spinach, then there’s no way they will know it is in there. Read more »

Raw Coconut Gazpacho – Refreshingly Delicious

By Carissa

We always hear about Tomato Gazpacho.  What about Ajo Blanco?   The Andalusian Ajo Blanco is a white gazpacho that is traditionally prepared with bread, almonds, garlic, water, olive oil, salt and vinegar. In my raw Coconut Gazpacho recipe, I substitute the bread with ground flax seeds and the water with raw coconut milk.

Aside from being the highest plant source of omega-3 fatty acids, flax seeds are an excellent laxative and anti-carcinogen.  They remove toxins from the blood and intestines.  Coconut is a cooling diuretic.  It soothes and protects internal membranes and the skin.  It is also anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal.  The benefits are numerous.  This soup is more filling than its Tomato counterpart, but just as refreshing.  This was a success at our house!  We all enjoyed it very much.  We hope you do too! Read more »