Karen Knowler * The Raw Food Coach

The Danger of Magical Thinking

One of the things I love the most about going raw is how it opens us up to more, specifically: more clarity, more insight, more depth, more abundance (in every sense of the word) and of course more energy, period.

When we take this opportunity the right way we can truly experience what I call a “magical” life on raw, meaning that we can move into a level of alignment and flow that we never had access to before, a level that brings exactly what we want to us quicker, easier and more wonderfully than before. “Magical” is the perfect word to describe it. It’s absolutely a high vibrational thing and within everyone’s grasp who says yes to living a high/all-raw lifestyle.

However, where people seem to be going wrong with this is in the belief that if something doesn’t happen quickly, easily or without a hitch, then “It isn’t meant to be”, or, “The Universe is protecting me, and it’s not right for me to have it.”

Warning: This is where I get particularly outspoken!

KAREN’S FAVOURITE GUACAMOLE

Serves 2–4

Most people love guacamole, however it’s made, and this one is guacamole with a twist. This one has no tomatoes (but you can add them) and in comes the magical ingredient of cumin which makes it taste just divine!

EQUIPMENT

None 

INGREDIENTS
2 ripe avocados
1–2 teaspoons of cumin powder (to your taste, and depends on size of avocados)
Juice of 1–2 lemons (depending on sweetness and amount of juice)
1 small onion (red onion works better)

DIRECTIONS

1.  Slice your avocadoes in half and remove the pits. (NB: It’s important that they’re ripe – to check, they must “give” a little when squeezed). Remove the flesh and spoon into a bowl. Mash well with a fork, adding the lemon juice if it’s hard going.

2.  Add in the cumin powder (err on the side of caution first and add less than you think you might need). Then add the lemon juice and very finely chopped onion.

3.  Mix all ingredients together by hand making sure the cumin and onion are spread evenly throughout the mixture.

4.  Taste-test. Adapt as desired. If you like tomato in your guacamole, now’s the time to add it.

5.  When you’re happy with your mixture, serve with crackers, as a side dish or as a filing for a wrap or roll. Yum yum.

Raw Coach Top Tips:

• Don’t be afraid to add more ingredients to this recipe – tomato, red pepper, coriander (cilantro), basil, swap onion for garlic – it’s all up to you.
• If you’re making a large batch and need to keep it fresh for a few hours, put the avocado stones (pits) in the bowl with the mixture and cover well. Refrigerate. All of these things will help it stay looking and tasting good.

© 2011 Karen Knowler WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE THIS RECIPE IN YOUR EZINE OR ON YOUR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach publishes "Successfully Raw" - a free weekly eZine for raw food lovers everywhere. If you're ready to look good, feel great and create a raw life you love get your FREE tips, tools and recipes now at www.TheRawFoodCoach.com.

How to Support Yourself Externally As You Experience Raw Turbulence

In last week's article we looked at how to support yourself emotionally as you transition cellularly and spiritually to a life lived on raw. This week it's time to turn our attention to how to support yourself in the outside world as you go through your journey of raw transformation.

First of all, to set the scene: At a certain stage in the raw food journey - usually pretty early on - the emotional stuff starts to rise up. As the fog of years of less-than-great eating/living lifts we start to see life, and ourselves, differently. Sometimes very differently. This is so common that I don't know that I've ever not heard someone talk about "a fog lifting that I didn't even know was there", so it's certainly a very real phenomenon, and when it happens it's as if our whole world is starting to be rocked.

As this occurs we start to view things differently about ourselves and our life, and to question things we never questioned before. These questions can range from the most basic around what to eat or drink through to questioning our own identity, our reason for being here and where we are going in life - and beyond! It's not a coincidence that most raw foodies will be reading a raw food book one minute and a self-help book the next.

The main issue we find, however, is that the raw food shifts are so unique and food-specific that most self-help books can help on one level but not on many others and so it is that we have to piece together how to move forward with this inner turbulence on our own.

And of course, when it comes to navigating the outside world when your inner world is rocking and rolling around, well, let's just say it's far from a walk in the park!

LUKE’S RAINBOW LOLLIES

This was a recipe that my son Luke and I created to make super-healthy ice-lollies when he was almost five years old. He was so proud of what he created at the end! (Not to mention how happy mummy was at the fact these taste better and are healthier than anything you can buy in the shops…)

EQUIPMENT
Blender, Ice-Lolly Moulds

INGREDIENTS
4 strawberries
1 banana
1 mango
2 apples
1 passion fruit

DIRECTIONS

1. Blend 4 strawberries with one banana and pour into bottom of each lolly mould
2. Blend the flesh of one juicy ripe mango and pour on top of first layer
3. Blend 2 apples with the insides of one passion fruit and pour to create third and final layer
4. Simply pop your full lolly moulds (obviously with the sticks in place!) into the freezer and leave overnight.

Raw Coach Top Tips:

We also made some plain orange juice ones as we had some spare moulds left, these were just as gorgeous too!

© 2011 Karen Knowler WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE THIS RECIPE IN YOUR EZINE OR ON YOUR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach publishes "Successfully Raw" - a free weekly eZine for raw food lovers everywhere. If you're ready to look good, feel great and create a raw life you love get your FREE tips, tools and recipes now at www.TheRawFoodCoach.com.

FREE Teleclass Next Tuesday - You Won't Want to Miss This!

     

 

FREE TELESEMINAR 

“The 7 Must-Know Steps to Take Your Raw Food Journey to the Stars - and Beyond!”

  

"Are you ready to refresh or recommit to your raw food journey and make it completely awe-inspiring, delicious and magical this time around?

If your answer is "Yes!" and you're ready to see where your raw food journey can take you over the months and years to follow, then this is the call for you!

 

* Have you been feeling as if your diet has become dull, somehow lacking or uninspiring?

* Have you found yourself eating foods you’d really wish you didn’t but can’t find the oomph to get yourself back on track again?

* Do you have a feeling that there’s something bigger out there for you, if only you could reach out and touch it? 

* Are you ready to do what it takes to step out, step up and break through to the next inspiring and breathtaking level of your personal and raw food journey?

Whether you are already excited to create a compelling new chapter in your life or are feeling stuck and less than inspired, when you join me on this call I'll share with you EXACTLY what needs to happen to get you to wake up, shake up and start stepping into the wonderful world of “raw magic” again.

 

 

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

Join me on this very special teleclass and you will learn:

And the good news is... All you need to participate is a PHONE or internet access to join me!

* Why your diet is a reflection of your life and your life is a reflection of your diet, and what you can do to get the two to sparkle like they’ve never sparkled before

* Why raw foods are one of the most potent tools for creating magic and the most amazing freedom in your body and your life.

* What needs to be true for you to step into a brave new world and what to expect along the way and out the other side

* The 7 must-have steps that you must take to take your raw food journey to the stars – and beyond!

* The 3 most potent things you can do RIGHT NOW to start your journey to “raw heaven”

* Details of my groundbreaking, newly upgraded Living Magically on Raw program and how you can be a part of it (If you’re serious about your raw journey then you owe it to yourself to find out about what's coming – it’s my best program ever!)

If You’re Ready to Live A Deliciously Magical Raw Lifestyle and You Want to Discover How to Do So... 

You need to be on this call!

Find out more and register (and yes, the call will be recorded if you can't make it live) here >>

 

How to Handle Raw Emotions

Knowing how to handle emotional intensity when going or trying to stay raw is one of the most important skills you will ever have to master on your raw food journey.

The reason being, because as you lighten up your diet, anything that does not serve you physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually will come up for healing, transforming and/or releasing. This happens because the human being is wired for an amazing level of health and wellbeing on all levels and anything that does not serve it, it will let go of once it is given something to displace it with that is of a higher nature.

Physically this phenomenon shows up as a surge in energy followed by a sometimes uncomfortable detox. Mentally this shows up as confusion and identity issues followed by a new level of clarity and awareness. Emotionally this manifests as unprecedented levels of natural unfathomable happiness alternated with feelings of emotional overwhelm, turbulence and crisis. And spiritually this shows up as asking bigger questions, feeling more at one with yourself and life itself and ultimately an experience of all pervasive peace and contentedness - and even bliss.

MACADAMIA CHEESE

SERVES: 4-6

This is one of the most simple and delicious raw cheese recipes you’ll ever make. Perfect as a side dish, in a salad or spread on crackers. Just yummy! 

EQUIPMENT

Food Processor OR Hand Blender

INGREDIENTS
2 cups of raw macadamia nuts
2 cups of cashew nuts
Juice of 1–2 lemons (depending on sweetness and the amount of juice)
1 clove of garlic
½ cup of pure water

DIRECTIONS

1.  Process the nuts first, ensuring they are broken down to a fine powder.

2.  Add the lemon juice and garlic, and process again, ensuring everything is mixed as well as it can be.

3.  Add water as you blend to create a more easily spreadable consistency. Stop before it gets too runny. It needs to be semi-solid.

Raw Coach Top Tips:

• Any leftovers can be spread on crackers, or crumbled into a salad. Alternatively you can mould it and shape it anyway you wish. One suggestion is to cut it into small cubes and spear to create the traditional cheese and pineapple party classic.
• You can add all sorts of ingredients to this to get a different flavoured “cheese”. How about red bell pepper for a sweet cheese? Or sundried tomatoes for a salty one? This will carry a lot of flavours really well.
• If you have a cheese addiction it may be that it’s actually a salt addiction masquerading as a cheese addiction! A lot of people love the saltiness of cheese but don’t realise this, so try adding a tiny bit of healthy salt to this recipe if this sounds like you.
• Add additional water to turn this from a “cheese” into a runny dressing or dip.
• Keeps for 5–7 days in the fridge.

© 2011 Karen Knowler WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE THIS RECIPE IN YOUR EZINE OR ON YOUR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach publishes "Successfully Raw" - a free weekly eZine for raw food lovers everywhere. If you're ready to look good, feel great and create a raw life you love get your FREE tips, tools and recipes now at www.TheRawFoodCoach.com.

 

How to Stop Eating When You're Full

In principle, knowing when to stop eating should be as natural as knowing when to step out of the shower. Once you're clean, you're clean... right? Well, logic would dictate that but, I bet there's plenty of people out there who stay in the shower until they're wrinkled and beyond clean simply because they love the feel of the warm water on their skin, the shampoo in their hair, or the bubbles on their body. Perhaps you're one of them? Herein lies our first big clue as to why we don't all stop when we "should".

My groundbreaking discovery of two years ago about what type of eater you are (according to your natural personality dictates – and what my forthcoming book is about) shone a whole lot of light onto things for me and others who I shared this work with. As I considered this particular issue, which many people seem to struggle with, I realised that knowing what type of eater you are is just as helpful when it comes to understanding why you have trouble saying "no" or "stop" when you're full or satiated, while others have no issue with it whatsoever.

But before we go there, an important aside. While there are unquestionably physiological factors as to why people find it hard to stop eating, I'm not going to be covering those here today. I think it's important to acknowledge these factors exist, but my experience suggests that what overlays and underlays the body's feedback around satiation is the emotion that we attach to food and eating; this then dictates whether we listen to those signals in the first place.

To explain how this works, I'll use myself as an example to illustrate one end of the spectrum, then we'll look at an example of someone who is at the other end. By the end of this article you'll not only understand more about yourself and why you do (or don't do) certain things around eating but you'll also have a series of powerful and effective steps for changing the way you do things if they're not working for you.

Sound good?