Karen Knowler * The Raw Food Coach

Meet Katie - My New PA

I'm delighted to announce that this week we welcome Katie Foster to The Raw Food Coach team. Katie is my new PA, working part-time from my office and part-time from her own. She steps into some of the shoes plus a few pairs more that Beth my former part-time PA filled and will be my full-time right-hand woman, handling all calls and emails.

I asked Katie to write an introduction so you can get to know her; some of you may have seen her with me in London last week at the Brian Clement event hosted by The Fresh Network. The picture above is one I took of her there, hence the busy background - the event was packed!

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Hi everyone, I’m Katie and I’m very pleased to meet you all!

I’m 36 years young(!) and live in Littleport, Cambridgeshire with my gorgeous husband Terry, the love and passion of my life, and my beautiful step-daughter Kayleigh.  Terry and I moved to Littleport from London in November 2006 to live with Kayleigh and it was a move that both excited and terrified us but one we have never had any regrets making.

I’ve been a PA now for around 14 years (good lord is it really that long!), working for various types of companies but, with every one I’ve spent time at, I’ve become more and more disillusioned and frustrated with the way the majority are run and the impersonal way in which employees are generally treated.  We spend such a large proportion of our lives at work that it has to be right, and I’ve personally now reached a point where I feel passionate about the need for my time to be spent making a real difference, not just to the people I work with but to the universe outside the four office walls! 

So, I thought, it’s time for change and the only person that can make that happen is me!

I’d seen Karen’s shout out for her ‘Dream PA’ in her eZine last year but, through my commuter fogged brain (5 hours a day travelling to London and back was certainly dampening my Va Va Voom!!), I was too slow off the mark and missed the boat….gutted!  However, knowing I desperately needed to quit the commute, I found myself a job in Cambridge working for another one of “those” companies (there were some very lovely people there though so all was not lost!).  By the start of 2008 the fog had well and truly cleared and with that came a clarity that I had never experienced before.  I knew in my heart and in my soul that this was my year for change, my time to start reaching for my dreams and living and breathing my own reality. 

New York Event Details Now Live!

  I'm super excited to announce my first New York event EVER in conjunction with Dhrumil (pictured below left) and the We Like It Raw team. Called "Successfully Raw" this event is taking place on Saturday 29th March - so not too far away now - and features myself, Joel Odhner (raw chef, middle), Anthony Anderson (raw model, bottom right) and Dhrumil himself.

If they're not great adverts for raw food males, then I don't know who is!

This is going to be a fantastic inspiring and life-changing day I promise, and I can't wait! Really looking forward to seeing many of you there and to giving you my very best.

For full info and to book online (really great price as well by the way AND it includes lunch created by Jill Pettijohn) click here. Seats ARE limited, so this is not one to ponder on. Just do it!

Raw Food For Beginners Class - Saturday 2nd February 2008

Are you looking for a day out to immerse yourself in the world of raw foods (and raw food tasting!) and get inspired or re-inspired for your raw food journey?

Then, wherever you may be in the world (well, almost!) I highly recommend you hop in the car or on the train and come on over to my one day class happening two weeks from now.

Raw Food For Beginners is the class I have been teaching in one form or another for over seven years and it's as popular today as it's always been. Why? Because it covers all you need to know to get started and beyond for a happy, healthy life in the raw, to whatever degree you desire - it's also very tasty and a lot of fun!

Of the 35 places available, only 12 are currently remaining, so don't miss out on what may very well be my only class of this nature all year.

THIS EVENT IS NOW SOLD OUT WITH A WAITING LIST.

Some of the recipes I'll be making and you'll be tasting include:

Almond milk, raw muesli, green smoothie, my famous raw pizza (pictured), chocolate pudding, veggie-nut burgers, nori rolls, mushroom pate and much more! (I'll also show you how to grow your own sprouts and wheatgrass the right way and answer all of your raw-related questions PLUS you get all the recipes to take away).

Read full details and book online here.

Watch a previous class on YouTube here. NB: Same venue, different class.

Early January News

There is already something special about 2008, don't you think?

Everyone I am talking to (who is sensitive anyway) feels that this year is going to be an amazing one. I really feel it too... now the question is: How are raw foods going to show up in the world in 2008?

Well, for my part you know what I'm up to as per my post of last week. It's exciting, fun and I really don't think I could be enjoying life much more than I am at present. The more I step into my own flow and joy (as new-age as that sounds!), the more everything seems to work out. This is the "issue" now facing the 14 ladies now working with me in my Raw Passion group which is a follow on to my "30 Days to Raw" program which ended in December. These ladies and I are working together for 3-6 months to see just how amazing they can make their raw life, and that's the challenge - to step out of any residual pains and limiting patterns and into ongoing pleasure (and passion!). "Can it really be too good to be true?" clients are wondering as I teach them about creating their own dream life. Well, I have dived into the waters of figuring that one out, and so far I can say, anything is possible. Fortune favours the brave and all that : ) And this seems to be increasingly where my work is going, and no complaints there! I mean, when you get clean and healthy and know what you want, where else is there to go?!

So on with the news...

This Friday raw food hits mainstream UK TV in the form of a documentary entitled "Health Food Junkies". Featuring our very own lovely Suki Zoe (pictured left - some of you will have met her at Raw Spirit in October if you haven't already met her in the UK) this program has already had a lot of reviews in the national press, but from what I have heard it hasn't been that great, so I am a bit nervous about watching it!

Ironically, this was a project I was very almost a part of but the director had to cancel our meeting/filming due to a pressing deadline and then we never got it together; maybe this is a good thing. We shall see... But kudos to Suki and anyone else involved, because it is no small deal to put yourself in front of a TV camera in the name of raw food when the general climate is still mixed (but definitely coming around) and the media is, well... we know.

Catch it on Channel 4 this Friday at 7:30pm.

The Raw Food Coach in 2008

New Year, New Stuff!

So here's the 2008 run-down, or at least the first half! I'm very clear this year on what I'm doing and why, and I'm sharing much of this with you from the start of the year so you know what's coming... What follows below will tie up loose ends, update you and hopefully excite you... and if it doesn't then let me know what will, and I'll see what my magic genie can do for you!

Here's to a radiantly raw year ahead:

1) Raw Food For Beginners – The Book
This is the year the book gets finished. It’s been seven years in the formulating (eek!) but as I write I am in the process of completely refreshing everything about it and am working with a writing coach to get it complete in first draft by end of March. After that editing, designing and printing. With this in mind, expect it to be available in the early summer. I can’t wait – it really is an amazing book!

2) The Raw Inspiration Group
The group membership site I had planned for 2007 simply didn’t happen as so many other things came up, many of which I had no clue would! However, as with all clouds, this one also has a silver lining and as a result when the group does launch it will be even better than originally designed and will basically cover EVERYTHING you need to go and stay raw in terms of support. ETA is April 2008, maybe a little sooner if possible. It’s going to be more than inspiring!

New Year, New Body?

In this week's eZine I wrote about the importance of creating Space and Energy for the new year if you feel ready for NEW STUFF in your life...

Without either taking new things on is virtually impossible!

Well... I am certainly up for the challenge...

It has been an amazing 2007 but there is a lot I am choosing to leave behind, and some of that is physical : ) I've been de-cluttering my home left and right, repainting, and all sorts (still doing it in fact) but internally it is time for a radical upgrade, I just know it.

So when my good friend and colleague Steve Prussack (host of Raw Vegan Radio) let me know about his newest offering I was definitely interested because I want to do something DIFFERENT this new year... and not just fruit, or just juices (although I am planning on doing the much raved about Juice Feast at some point), and actually, not just alone!

As I am so used to running groups myself this is going to be a refreshing change, being led by someone else! Can I do it?! I will try... : )

And I'll be blogging about the program and changes as I go, which will hold me even more accountable! Yikes...

Would you like to join me, Steve and potentially hundreds of others? It would be great to "meet" some of you there (it's a virtual online program). Well, you definitely can as it is gearing up to be "The Biggest Group Cleanse Ever!" - and this can only be an amazing and life-changing thing!

To read all about it and see if it's for you check out Steve's beautiful web page here.

Your 3 Christmas Wishes - Granted!

My *Brightest*, Most Original & Soulfully-Supportive Offering EVER!

Will you let me help you make your Christmas Wishes come true?

Does the thought of another cooked-food Christmas fill you with sludgy, suffocating sighs of sadness and dread?

Do you wish that this Christmas could be different to those that have gone before – INCREDIBLY different?

Are you raring to make 2008 your best year yet by FAR but aren’t quite sure where to start?

Are you ready to make the pledge to go 100% raw during the busiest but most exciting time of the year ~ so you can surge through the party season looking and feeling like a million dollars?

If this sounds like you, read on because I have created the perfect and ultimate Holiday Season Coaching Package that is going to rock your Christmas Stockings off!!!

Cick play to hear my audio introduction to these amazing offerings!

Exciting Christmas Announcement!

So I was sitting there thinking one night earlier this week...

"When am I going to have a truly Raw, truly Christmassy dinner again?"

Now, by this I don't mean a durian which is my usual Christmas Dinner of choice! But one that looks and tastes like the one that we grew up with - you know, meat (or nut roast), potatoes, stuffing, mince pies... the lot! It's not that I especially loved the food or would want to eat it every day, but you know how we each have our own cellular and emotional memories of such times. The food, the conversation, the laughter, the celebration, the abundance. Well, I'm no different and decided it would be fun to organise one... and not just for myself!

Enter the AHA MOMENT!

Some of you will know that Russell James and I ran the UK's first ever UK Raw Food Dinner Parties from my home back in early 2006 when I ran The Fresh Network. Well, I decided it was time to relight the fire - so to speak! - and revisit our winning combination for an extra special Dinner Party to end all Dinner Parties! The All-Raw Christmas Feast 2007.

Thankfully, Russell agreed - what a star! And so read on if you'd like to be one of just 9 people who get to have a seat at our special Christmas Dinner Party evening on Saturday 22nd December 2007 near Ely, Cambridgshire.

I Am Healthy Radio - Special Internet Event This Sunday

Hot on the heels of Raw Summit 2, comes yet another fascinating series of interviews and raw food education on the Internet.

Some of you may already have heard of I Am Healthy Radio or perhaps "Recipes For Life" which is a show within the station and is the brainchild of Dorit, one of the raw food communities most pro-active members and founder of the Raw Foods Film Festival and Serenity Spaces web site.

Having met Dorit (left) at Raw Spirit in October and for the first time, we had an instant great connection and she kindly invited me to be part of an exciting panel discussion program which includes some of the leaders in the wellness and healing world including: Cherie Soria, Christina Pirello, Diana Store, Dr. Brian Clement, David and Katrina Rainoshek, Dr. David Wong, Dr. Doug Graham, Elyse Nuff, Irisha Pomerantzeff, Jill Swyers, Jim Carey, Justin Schmidt, Mark (Dr. Tea) Ukra, Mark Perlmutter (Co-creator of Raw Summit), Michael Saiber (E3 Live), Mike Anderson, Niedra Gabriel, Nomi Shannon, Rhio, Ricardo Riskalla, Roman Devivo, Selina Delangre, Shauna Verkade, Tamera Campbell and Victoria Boutenko. Phew! What a great bunch :)

The program I took part in was really high energy with some truly amazing info being shared. It was a very powerful meeting of minds and I hope you will tune in to hear it!

All shows which form this great event have already been recorded and they will be broadcast internationally this Sunday, December 2, to usher in the Holiday celebration for conscious nutrition and for our health, in general. Mike Adams of NewsTarget.com will be a special guest.

The topics that will be covered in this program range from nutrition for healing and optimal health to herbal remedies, addressing emotions and eating, raw vegan or not. As well as the use of salt, issues and complications with dehydration, a wellness approach to cancer and diabetes and many other pertinent issues that we face as we search for vibrant health.

This event (which is actually a combination of three panel discussions) will be available as a one-time only marathon broadcast of a new show called "Recipes For Life" with Dorit, and I highly recommend that you take full advantage of this special one time listening opportunity and listen to these incredible panelists.

From what I had personally experienced by being in the panel, there is a tremendous wealth of information shared by these leaders from the conscious nutrition community.

This exciting show starts Sunday, so I recommend you check it out now before you forget, as it really is going to be something else!

Find out all about it here

New Event: Your Best Raw Self 2008 (15-16 Dec, 2007)

I am delighted to finally announce the full details of my forthcoming Weekend Retreat:

“Your Best Raw Self 2008”

Relax and let go of the daily grind and all that doesn’t serve you as you join us at The Old Stable House Centre, Newmarket, an exceptionally peaceful residential retreat venue where you will be surrounded by trees, comfy cushions, sofas and silence as you are warmly welcomed into a life-changing weekend.

This one-of-a-kind retreat is happening from Saturday 15 – Sunday 16 December (i.e. in three weekends time) and is going to be THE special Christmas gift to give yourself if you want to make 2008 your best, most truly fulfilling and authentically-aligned year yet. This is the exact same venue I was a guest at many years ago for a New Years Retreat that changed my entire life. I would like to give you the gift of the same.

Join me on this weekend and you will...