About Me

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Northamptonshire, United Kingdom
My name is Peace Ravenwood and I am a Living Foods educator and experimenter, founder of the School of Living Foods and Alchemy Elixir Cafe ~ based in Northamptonshire UK. I love sharing the gifts and benefits of a life rich in raw foods, and also love spending as much time as possible outside in the garden, growing lots of fresh organic produce to use in the recipes. Wild foraging is also a passion of mine, one which I am constantly learning more about. My life is dedicated to learning and sharing every aspect of life in the raw, from seed ~ stomach ~ spirituality and sensuality. My other loves are of spending time with loved ones Anthony and our tribe of furry companions, reading, researching, writing and a little radical rebellion...my aim here to you is to walk with you while we change our world, one meal at a time Inlakesh Peace xxx

Sunday 26 June 2011

ups and downs

Here is a progress report on how things are going during the 100 day challenge.  I have to say that mostly I have kept to the program but I did have about 3 days or so where I just ate some not so good foods, like oven fries and fried eggs...this was due to me feeling very lazy and lonely and craving some of the old foods that made me so obese and ill for many years :0(

I have until now, been drinking the pint of  bicarb water every morning and having the vitamin C smoothie an hour later.  I have no idea if it was making a difference or not, but what is for sure is that I have been in a lot of pain and discomfort for the past few weeks - more so than initially.
So, today, I did not have the bicarb water, just went back to a pint of warm water first thing followed by a green smoothie with a hunk of coriander in it.  
For lunch I ate a courgette pasta salad with olives and hummus, a while later a raw chocolate mousse made with Irish moss (yummy) and mid  afternoon some more olives and hummus.
What can I say...I fed my stomach and soul today! LOL


Supper has been for the last 2 days, another green smoothie, again heavy on the coriander, chard and rocket.


The pains have been all over my body, and they are making me feel very down at the moment.  Being a little hypochondriac all my life (not to the point of going to Dr's all the time, but being aware of the aches and pains and worrying they may be some dreadful disease), I am of course worried what it all means, but I really have no faith in the NHS system and wish to avoid radiation of any kind when they do explorations as to what is going on in the body...not that the Dr would go that route when mostly they say.."you look too healthy for there to be anything wrong with you"

Well, let me tell the world...I don't blummin feel to great at the moment!

I am not one to complain much to anyone but my beloved husband, and keep most of how I feel health wise quiet from even him until of late, and I totally hate to come over as being negative or whiny...so this sharing here is a first for me...I hope it is of help to some of you to know how and where I am right now.
Being raw is not the be all and end all of life and wellness...not when there are years of healing going on right now, not to mention all the energetic shifts that many of us are experiencing - most of the time we have no idea what is going on and why we are feeling like we do - very disconcerting and frustrating.


When I wake up every morning, and most nights, in pain with my back, hip or legs, I wonder what on Earth is going on, where am I going wrong in my diet, what can I do to make it heal easier...
I am also having pains in my left breast - so much so that I sometimes cannot bear to wear my bra as I think that is contributing to the pains...and, being well provided for in the chest department, this is not the best option for going out in public...LOL
All this is a chore to cope with and a bore for someone who has so much energy I just want to get out there, dance, sing, laugh, play, run, bounce and be on the go all the time...but this soul carrier just cannot keep up with the soul it is holding!
I am impatient for the healing to be complete, so my body can carry me to all the glorious places we want to go and have all the experiences we need to be having.


So, onto food again.  I have to keep on track and not deviate if I am to allow the healing to continue.  If I choose cooked foods I have to ensure they are good choices, like whole foods and not frozen chips and animal embryo's (urgh)...nice baked potatoes and a huge green salad sounds a better choice doesn't it?


I am happy today for the food I have chosen to eat since Thursday...all high raw, well, almost totally raw really...but, I think to see exactly what I can bring to my healing, I need to stay raw for at least another 4 days or more before I choose any cooked foods for a meal.
What I did see when beginning the challenge, was that each day my weight went down by a pound or so...only when I deviated from the raw plan did it go up again.
I am still lighter than I have been since I was in my late 20's and this is such a positive for me on a mental level.


To keep retreating from that 15 stone level is a plus every day.


My next goal is the number 14.


But, I am no longer on the weight train, but rather have jumped onto the health train, in the mind set that it is better to gain health than loose weight.


Today my emotions took a down turn.  I have spent the day resting mostly, after a busy few days - making foods for a festival, then the festival yesterday, which left my body in lots of pain which again knocked me for six and leaves me wishing I was able to share the work with a dear one who has the same understanding and passion for sharing raw foods with as many people as possible.

Now, this may not be the case, and there may be huge shifts of change around the corner that are just out of sight right now, and we all have feelings like this - I know that.  But, when we get like this it can seem hard to shift out of that energy alone.


I am determined not to give up and to carry on with the search for where I am supposed to be in this changing Universe, for I know that it is coming.  It would be a travesty to give up now and go join the rest of the population on the treadmill of boring 'normality and conformity' just to keep the roof over our heads... being out of the box is often not the most comforting place to be and the faith is certainly shaken today.


I am eternally grateful for the support and love of Ant and my family up north, for they never give up on me (Only I do that).

I am eternally grateful for all of you who read these ramblings here and on Facebook (although I am having a few days off being on there for now)

I am eternally grateful for the inspirational people all over the world who share their passions and also their ups and downs on this path to health and freedom.

I am eternally grateful to wake up every morning to another day of opportunity and blessings to spend time connected to Gaia .


I am eternally grateful to be learning to make some of the best food ever and to share that with beautiful souls at the events we go to.


I am also eternally grateful to be present in this moment, in this reality, in this breath, to share the deepest darkest hours as well as the highs and vibrational love flowing ever on towards our transformations in this incarnation.


I am also eternally happy to not be what people expect me to be, to not fit any mould or any box and also to not be defined as anything - I am just ME, I just AM...I just BE, and although I wish to know where I am needed and what to do (an how best to do it) I am happy to do that quietly, behind the scenes and then burst through the chrysalis to blossom and bloom full of light and sparkles so that it is very clear exactly what it is ~ shine time!


Off to dream sleeps now ~ blessing, love and peace to you all ~ may tomorrow be a better day for us all, better than we could ever hope it to be xxx








 

Wednesday 8 June 2011

June ~ growth and more bounty

I am often stumped as to how to write in this Blog, I sit here with a blank mind even though there is much I could say, but not knowing how to put it all down!

So, just ramble on and let if all flow out...

June is here and I must say it is a bit cold for my liking...we are having more stormy days that really should have been here in April, and the evenings have a real chill (I feel the cold anyhow but this is silly)

Thank fully we got the tunnel up and covered and now I am working on the bed edging for the planting areas.  We planted tomatoes, melons and cucumbers and will add basil, calendula marigold and some more herbs to make it really pretty and productive.
There is bounty in the salad beds outside too, with so much salad leaves we have too much...must get juicing some of it!
This year sees the first success with Henbane too ~ never got it to germinate before but it is doing really well now (I have a passion for deadly plants that is perhaps a bit worrying...LOL)

Today I planted out some mallow and it looks really healthy ~ must look up the best way to eat it and all its benefits.

I'm pondering how to support the melons but may just let them sprawl as we have water melon which may be too heavy to climb a net.  the Charentais will be ok too fingers crossed.

100 day raw food challenge
Today is day one of a 100 day challenge to be, well, 100% raw and fully cleanse the body mind and soul...I am doing this with the support of Michele at Super Raw Life magazine, and following her book of the same title.
I went out and bought a set of digital scales today so I can now weigh at home instead of going into town, and I am pleased to say I am at my lightest in 20 years...
My weight today is 14st 13lbs

I have been doing good on a high fruit/carb raw diet for 2 months but feel it is lacking something...so I begin this new challenge, with determination to stick to it for the whole 100 days...
Each day has a journal page to fill in and lots of stats to record, at the end of the challenge I hope to collate all the information into some format and share it all with you...

Today I admit I feel a little scared and very lonely.  I have allowed some old patterns back in over the last 2 weeks, even though I maintain a high percentage of my daily food as raw, some of the foods have been real shocks for my body, but I felt that I just need them some how...not sure why.

So, as day one of this challenge comes to an end, I have actually sat down at lunch time and eaten a huge plate of salad with olives and courgette hummus...rounded off with a bar of my raw chocolate ( I always feel the need for cacao after eating a chewable meal)
Then I went into the garden for an hour or so, actually I am off out again now to do some more work.

Here is what I will be drinking every morning:

Vitamin C Blaster

juice ~ 1 lemon, 1 lime, 1 grapefruit, add 1 cup fresh or frozen berries and blend on high power.
Drink one hour after drinking 1 pint of bicarbonate water (1tsp bicarbonate of soda in 16oz water)

The bicarb water helps flush your system of lactic acid every morning.

I will let you know in a few days how this routine makes me feel.

Love and blessings