Hi all,
I am now in
First of all, I bought strawberries, strawberries, strawberries! These are really my first strawberries of the year, so I am very excited. They taste amazing!
And I brought one of my most favorite fruits…loquats! Loquat trees are a local tree in
Hello world,
It has been months since I posted anything. Life has been busy, but that is no excuse. So here is an update:
First and foremost, I am still raw. Still pushing along and waiting for the sun and earth to provide me with fresh fruits. From these Pennsylvania winters, I have learned that although I love, love-love-love vegetables, I really need some fruit in my life. Mmmmm, some mango, strawberries, blueberries, all the berries…wow, just the thought of fruit has me dancing in my chair. Oooo, pomegranates…I’m currently passing out.
I am currently finishing my 2nd year of graduate school, and interestingly-enough I think this semester has been more difficult than the first. I don’t think I have ever stressed so much in my life. A few weeks ago, I actually had an allergic reaction to some cashews. I couldn’t believe it! I had hives for a WEEK AND A HALF. I still have marks on my skin from all the scratching. Since I have a history of eating cashews, I am pretty sure that it was not the cause. After reading up on a few things, I realized that the reaction was due to stress. Since then I have accepted the fact that I have been stressed, which is a big step since I tend to deny that I am stressed when I am stressed. Yeah….issues. I also began to realize that a lot of my current bodily issues are probably related to stress. I find it amazing that even though I have been raw for almost 2 years that I still have some issues. Here is a list:
1. Psoriasis on my scalp
2. Sleeping 9-10-11 hours a night
3. Now, I take forever to get out of bed. I can lay in bed for 1-2 hours when I wake up. This is a good sign that my adrenals are overtaxed.
4. I have gained 5-10 pounds this semester…which is crazy since I am like 40 pounds overweight.
5. Ever-changing moods…just ask my roommates
6. Gas…just ask my roommates
7. Tired all the time
8. Bloated and puffy
9. And, just not as happy ☹
So, I have been working on ways to decrease my stress. Luckily, I have some amazing people around me who are helping me find ways to de-stress, experience joyfulness, and give my mind peace. Lucky girl! I have actually started to meditate…this is day 2. A new, inspiring friend (see ) gave me some pointers and so far so good. I have stopped working as much, and duh…that has really helped. And lastly, I started bellydancing and going to bed early again. And just as a side note, since I have been taking it easy in the past week, I have lost about 5 pounds.
So, I thought I would update you all with a picture. Unfortunately, I lost my camera in New Orleans, but someone took a picture of me recently at a wedding shower.
I am in the middle, Joche my roommate is on the left, and my friend Lavona is on the right.
Oh, I now have a myspace page. It took me forever but I have finally succumbed. Go to myspace.com/rawblackgirl
Have a wonderful, awesome, stupendous, enlightening, and joyful day!
-Brandi
Greetings People,
It has been a while since there have been any updates from the rawsistas. Due to busy lives, all of us have not been able to post as much as we thought we would, when we first started. But I/we do promise to keep updating as much as possible. Even if we don't write something about what we are personally doing, we will post a video, a website/blog; article or book that we think you would find interesting.
Updates
For the past week or so, while some of my fellow New Orleanians were out at parades in celebration of Mardi Gras, I have been transplating my greens that have been struggling for survival in this inconsistent weather patterns. I have made a commitment to working/ being with the Earth in some way every day. I have a new obsession that I will talk about in my next post. Until then, please enjoy these pics. it.
....Notice how much concentration Omer has while watering the mint.
Here are our Collard greens and Green eaf lettuce. I am affirming their recovery and giving them lots of compost and loving thoughts.
Oh, I forgot to add that I build the garden boxes myself (smile). I felt really empowered.
Youth and Raw Foods
In February, I started teaching a workshop that I created called "Vibrant U-- A journey into Wellness" to youth at a High School in New Orleans. The workshop merges body awareness exercises, nutrition education and the arts in a fun and exciting way. Initially, the students had the expected questions like "What is the class about?" and "What are we going to learn?" and the like. Based on my own experience and focus on creating Wellness in my own life, I have learned that Wellness is dynamic and individualized, so giving them one answer didn't work, becasue it always brought me to another question, so I just allowed the action and work/play answer their questions. There were a few times when their a little bit of resistance to some of the philosophies that I present in the class, but overall, these youth are amazingly receptive to the information. I love it when I hear them say " Oh, Miss Gabrilla, I can't wait to tell my mother /aunt/ father about this!"
This past week, (which was the first day of food preparation), we had a blast, we made a Mexican-inspired salad with a nut cheese and a berry/banana smoothie. The food was so good. They loved it!
Our Mexican-inspired Salad
Notice the smiles of pure raw goodness.
One of my students called me on the phone after leaving class, telling me that her mother really enjoyed some of the salad that we prepared. It feels really good when I see how cooperative they are. How willing they are to learn how to prepare healthy wholesome food and live healthy loves. I did not get one complaint. They would taste the corn and really just light up. They make me love coming there.
Before we prepared the meal, we watched a clip from the video "Raw for Life". They were shocked to know that a person could heal their bodies of conditions such as cancer, diabetes and high blood presssure by eating a raw foods diet. One of my students asked "Why don't the doctors tell us this?" Sharp. They don't miss a beat.
Just amazing kids. I will post more about the workshops as the week go by. We have 11 more weeks.
In Greatness,
GaBrilla
Here is an E! Entertainment clip on The Raw Living Foods Lifestyle. Enjoy!!!!
Greetings people,
It has been a while since any of us has entered anything new on our blog. I have been visiting a lot of other people's blogs and realized that I have not been committing to the things that I am passionate about in regards to wellness, writing, sharing information with you beautiful people out there. So here we are...A new day...A new light...A new opportunity.
The Update:
Brandi is still going strong raw. I am still working to find that balance in my tranisition into raw living. But I continue to have my green smoothies daily and now my morning Mate tea. I also started adding strength training to my morning exercises. Push-ups, crunches and curls (10 lb). It nice to feel strong in my body.
Next post, I'll have some pics of some of the veggies that I have started growing. Til then.
In Greatness and Greens,
GaBrilla
Tomorrow starts the Holy Month of Ramadan and since I am still nursing my son, I am unable to fast. Instead, I will eat only raw foods for the next month. This I know will be very challenging and very rewarding. I know I am surrounded by resources. And the best of all, I know how to take care of myself in my highs and lows. I look forward tot he insights that come from this journey. I will write what I eat daily, as well as some of the insights that I have.
Here are a list of ailments and discomforts that I am experiencing:
- Irritable Moods (short tempered, especially on the road)
- Scatter-brained
- Mild Skin Irritation
- Toe fungus
- Insomnia
- Sjogren's Syndrome
- Mild Achy Joints
Here is my before picture, as I finish off a pint of soy cookies and cream ice cream (yes I said it)
In Greatness,
GaBrilla
Here is an interview Brandi did with HerManna TV (GaBrilla's New Vlog) Enjoy!
A moment worth its weight in gold...
Today, I was in one of my courses. It was the first class and everyone spent a minute introducing themselves and their research interests. I knew several of the students well since they are in my graduate cohort. And as these specific students introduced themselves, I found myself feeling exquisitely happy because I was so proud of their accomplishments, vocal ability, and just their undeniable passion for their work. As they talked, I did not compare myself with them. Actually, I felt abundant. I felt that there is so much opportunity to do well and be recognized. So, I quieted my mind and gave them that moment. I listened, and this allowed me to be truly proud and happy for them.
I have decided to work on my habit of comparing myself to others so that I may have more moments like this. They are indeed glorious.
(Picture: A floating tomato in my garden. It doesn't really float, but this is how my camera took the picture. And I can't really argue with that.)
Today, I was reading Alissa Cohen’s book “Living on Live Foods.” I was inspired by the stories of people successfully changing their lives and living the life they could have only dreamed about before becoming raw. Something she said in the book truly inspired me, “you must have a clearly defined image of what you want to look like, feel like, and be. If you don’t know what you are trying to create, how can you create it?” This is a very simple statement, but for me in this period of my life, it means so much. There are things that I would like to do and qualities that I would like to become, however, I am not there yet and I am not quite sure how to get there. So, it seems that the first step is to write down what I would like to be, feel like, and look like.
So this is what I want. The next step is to begin making these apart of my reality through daily action, meditation, and visualization. I will let you know what happens.
Picture: I am on the left, and Phyllis is on the right (she is one of my favorite people in the whole-wide world).-Brandi
This was my journal entry to mark my 1-year anniversary of being raw.
7/20/07
Today is the 366th day that I have been raw. It has been a year since I made a commitment to fulfill my potential. A few days ago a friend said that this was a testament to who I am. And she is right. It is a testament of my commitment to bettering myself so that I can create a healthy environment for my future children, so that they too can fulfill their potential.
So much has happened in the last year. Graduate school is going well. I don’t think it would have gone this well without me being raw. I have so much to look back on and appreciate and so much to look forward to. There is so much to achieve and work for. This is the beginning of a new year where I will move further to achieving my full potential.
These are the changes that I noticed in the last year because of the raw diet:
I would like to commit the next year to bringing my mind to the present state. I want to present so that I can truly experience life, be there for others, and experience how I truly am. I want that. I want that patience and happiness in my life.
Here are some before and after pictures.
3.5 months raw
Brandi's Container Garden (an update!)
Hello everyone. I thought I would update everyone on my garden. My plants have been home for 3 weeks and they must love me because they have grown like crazy. Well maybe not like a beanstalk, but more than what I expected. Those peppers that looked raggedy are now almost 3 feet tall and still growing. I have about 4 of them and I still don’t know what kind of peppers they are. Oh, I hope they are cayenne. My tomato plants are starting to fruit. And it is crazy because some of the containers are not deep. They have grown larger than expected.
What I have learned so far in terms of gardening is that plants need love, encouragement, discipline when required, and sun, fertilizer and water. I am using this fish organic fertilizer that is doing an amazing job. If anyone wants the name let me know. I have used organic soil and seeds, so my plants are organic. Pretty cool. Also, I have learned that certain plants need more room while others do well in smaller pots. Like summer squash. They like deep pots, but peppers can do well in medium pots. Interesting.
By the way, I have now added basil and oregano to the garden. How fantastic!
Here are pictures:
By the way, my grape vine has been growing a lot. It has probably grown 2 feet in the last 3 weeks. And my blueberry bush is going strong. It is still producing fruit, which the chipmunks love to eat. The yield is very small, but because it is doing so well I expect a better yield next year.
My Morning prayer (6/25/07)
This is the prayer that I wrote last night to say this morning:
"Today is a welcome of abundance. I welcome abundance. I will recognize my blessings. Every moment is abundance. So much can be achieved in a moment. Whether it is checking your email or driving to work. A single moment allows you to move to a place you weren't before. So many possibilities. So much abundance! Treasure these moments. They are the source of abundance. Have a wonderful and blessed day. Be a blessing for others."
-Brandi
Good morning everyone,
Today is such a wonderful day. This is the second day of my menstruation cycle and I feel wonderful. I am almost 1 year raw. According to my journal, only 26 more days to go. I woke up this morning, took a shower, and worked on my garden. Most of you don’t know this, but I have a small container garden. I started it over spring break from seedlings, not knowing what to expect. I planted summer squash, basil, sugar peas, parsley, melon, lemon cucumbers, and sunflowers. I also brought 2 grape plants and 2 blueberry trees. I left my plants in my friends care while I was in
I staked my peas and now they look healthier.
My grape vines are still doing well (the one I brought from the farm is doing better than the one I bought from Lowe’s).
One of my blueberry trees is producing small blueberries, which suggest that I will have a good harvest next year. The plant from Lowe’s is not doing as well as the one from the farm (duh!).
I replanted my squash because the container was too small. Also I think that because there wasn’t enough fertilizer, the plant kept producing roots, and the plant became root bound.
Also, there is good news. When I transplanted my plants from their small trays to their pots a few months ago, I used compost from the farm where I pick up my farmshare. Well, the compost had all kinds of seeds in them. Now I have peppers growing, all types of tomatoes, and lettuce. All of which, I did not plant. I can't wait for the fruit to come in (see below).
Also this morning, I made some juice. I juiced rhubarb (no leaves or roots) with lemon and strawberries. I was careful to make sure that I cut off enough of the bottom of the stalk so that it had no roots. Rhubarb contains a lot of oxalates, and the roots and leaves are toxic.
After I made the juice, I mixed in agave and lecithin. I wanted to make a sauce to pour over peaches and strawberries. My peaches weren’t ripe yet, so I poured it over strawberries and it was gooooood. It was tart and sweet. Here is the recipe if you want to make it:
3 stalks of rhubarb
1/2 c. strawberries
1 lemon (meyer preferred)
Agave to sweeten
1 1/2 tbsp lecithin
Juice all the ingredients. I juiced the lemon rind, but you don’t have to. Pour the juice into a bowl. Now add the lecithin and stir until dissolved. Now it is ready to pour over any sweet fruit. Berries work the best with this.
Lastly, I wanted to make mention of my menstruation cycle this month. It was different. I bled more on the first day (can we say a river). I even bled heavy during the night, which is when I usually bleed lighter. I didn’t feel tired like I usually do, or discomfort. I was bloated for the first half of the day and then it went away. And, I had more energy and more patience.
Good times.
-Brandi
Curry Flax Crackers
by Brandi Rollins
This recipe makes a spicy flax cracker. However, if you like strong flavors (like me), you can decrease the amount of flax seeds, water, and oil in half.
2 cups Flax Seeds (soaked 6 hours in 3 cups of water)
2 cloves
4 cardamom pod
1 tsp coriander seeds (a heaping teaspoon)
3 garlic cloves
2 roma tomatoes cubed (or 1 medium sized tomato)
1 tbsp cumin
1 red jalapeno (if green, you may need two)
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp ginger, minced
1/3 cup water
2 tsp salt
2.5 tbsp Curry seasoning
1/2 cup Sesame seed oil or sunflower seed oil (try not to use olive oil)
Soy sauce or salt to taste
You will need a dehydrator and 2 Teflex sheets.
After soaking the flax seeds for 6 hours, remove them to a large bowl. In a small blender combine the remaining ingredients except the oil. It should form a paste. Now add the paste to the soaked flax seeds and then add the oil. Mix the mixture well. Pour half the mixture onto one Teflex sheet and spread to 1/8-inch thickness. Pour the remaining mixture onto another Teflex sheet. Place both in the dehydrator. Dehydrate the flax crackers at 145-degress for 1 hour, and then decrease the temperature to 105-degrees. When the top of the crackers are dry, flip onto the grid and peel away Teflex sheet. Dehydrate until dry.
The crackers will keep for a week in a dry container.
Green Tea Ice Cream
----------------
This stuff is amazing! The cinnamon is a nice touch. This is my roommate’s recipe. All the ingredient measurements are estimates. Enjoy!
-Brandi
2-3tsp Green Tea powder
1 banana
1/2c. coconut milk (may need a little extra)
1c. ice cubes (can add more to thicken)
1-2tsp cinnamon
1-1½ vanilla extract
2-4tsp honey
Blend all ingredients in a strong blender. You may need to add more coconut milk to blend the ingredients. If you want a more solid ice cream, place in the freezer.
Note that bananas can be substituted by the fruit of your choice. My roommate has also made this with mangos and peach. They are both very good with the green tea powder.
Note that the fruit can also be frozen. If you use frozen fruit use ½ the amount of ice or no ice, depending on the amount of fruit you add.
A Morning Prayer (read 6/17/07)
Last night, I wrote in my journal a prayer to say in the morning. I thought I would share it with everyone because it is about celebrating your work. I thought it was a wonderful way to start the day and it really helped me stay focused on the day’s tasks. So here it is:
"Today I will work. I will celebrate that work because it is my vocation. It is where I put my time, therefore, it's work that I love and is a reflection of myself. Through this work I will cultivate my power, and gain the skills and experiences needed to serve, further, and commune with the spirit. The spirit of my ancestors, the universe, and the present time me. Thank you for the gift of today. So many opportunities to further the spirit. So, be present, be apart of the living, and just be."
-Brandi
Meeting of the Minds
May 2007
Last month, the raw sistas (plus 2: Shaneca and Omer) got together for the 2nd quarterly Meeting of the Minds. If you don’t already know, this is a meeting where we share our goals and achievements to inspire, support, and encourage one another. This was a special meeting because we were all in the same city at the same time. What a blessing! We met at Café Gratitude in Berkeley, CA. A one-hour breakfast turned into a 3-hour sharing of stories, life plans, and wonderful food (although some ended up on the table thanks to Omer and Shaneca dipped out for some roasted chicken at a nearby restaurant).
We were all in a place of new beginnings: GaBrilla was beginning a new stage in her life as prepared to move to New Orleans. She shared the introduction to her book, and her accomplishments as a mother and an artist. She is such a fantastic mother! Rufiena spoke of her new job as coordinator at EF in Los Angeles, her successful six-month stay in Thailand, and recent certification as an international ESL instructor. Alicia celebrated her induction into the honors society at Columbia University, and looks forward to starting the first year of graduate studies. Shaneca shared her goals of graduating High School, improvement of her grades, and her experiences as a dancer. She plans to study dance at college. Lastly, Brandi talked of her many achievements in Graduate School, including her main accomplishment for being 100% raw for almost a year. She plans to submit 5 publications and attend 2 conferences in the fall.
Here is a picture from the meeting.
In picture: (left to right) Rufiena, Brandi, Alicia, Shaneca, Gabrilla, and Omer (he's eating))
I had to pull all the weeds up and lots overgrown grass. I turned the dirt over and knew that there was some other things that I needed to do to the soil since it is so clay like. See below.
I did some research on the current status of the land post Katrina and I was advised to get the soil tested, so I will be holding off on any planting, growing seedlings indoors and growing compost until I get the results of the test back.
Here’s the beginning of my garden. I can’t to see what it looks like six months from now.
Although it is a major blow to have to pay 2.99 for a bunch of organic kale, half the size it is supposed to be, I intend to maintain a healthy diet, comprised of lots of vegetable and fruits. And speaking of food, here is a “living” date torte that I made with a cashew butter frosting--Heaven!!! 
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