IN THIS ISSUE

-Network Happening:

-Raw Vegan Network Members New Books

-Info from Our Online Raw Course

-In the News

-Food for Thought: Understanding Herbs

-Featured Network Member: Alejandra Hernandez, Mexico City

-Favorite Recipes: Carrot Dill Soup, Marinated Mushrooms, Almond Milk with Cardamom

-Products: Juicers, distillers, dehydrators, raw recipe e-book

**Please email us with your feedback about the articles and recipes, and what you would like to see in up coming issues.  

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NETWORK HAPPENINGS

**The Raw Vegan Network provides online raw food certifications for those who wish to expand their portfolio of expertise enabling them to serve others in there locale that wish to experience the health benefits of living a raw food lifestyle.  For information: www.therawvegannetwork.com

**We also provide free contact services for people desiring help in there local area for raw food services.  For information: www.therawvegannetwork.com

**Need help getting started with incorporating healthy raw food choices into your diet and maintaining the raw vegan lifestyle?  Put together an entire holiday feast or a light meal.  Mostly Raw Recipes by Vickie Fisher (owner of The Raw Vegan Network) is available at www.therawvegannetwork.com/productindex.htm

**Check out the “member’s events” page at www.therawvegannetwork.com/events.htm. It has the latest on what members are doing, such as raw food classes, retreats, raw food delivery, festivals, etc.

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RAW VEGAN NETWORK MEMBERS NEW BOOKS

**Our new e-book of raw recipes by Raw Vegan Network members from Israel, Canada, Philippines, Sweden and the US.

The Raw Vegan Network Member’s Recipe Book

Volume 1

A Collection of Our Favorite Raw Vegan Recipes from Around the World

**PURCHASE YOUR E-BOOK TODAY FOR ONLY $14.95**

**Click here to order: http://therawvegannetwork.com/orderrvnrecipeebook.htm

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 IN THE NEWS

Health Secrets of the Home Spice Rack Explained
In centuries past, spices traded for gold. Voyagers searched the world over for the culinary and medicinal values provided by certain plants. In the days before the Industrial Revolution and the burning of fossil fuels, a person's sense of...

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Thank you all for your support of the Health Revolution Petition! (www.HealthRevolutionPetition.org) Signatures have now exceeded 21,000. Please spread the word, as 100,000 signatures are needed to take this to Washington D.C. and make an impact regarding the health care reform debate.

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The Traveling Poet is coming to your city and witness one of the largest poetic peace pilgrimages ever documented.
Let the journey begin... NEW ROUTE for May and June!  Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oregon, Seattle & then Vancouver!! 

Want to advertise, Sponsor, Partner, Open up your couch, Book us to speak, etc.? Contact us at info@travelingpoet.com

** (Please let Apollo know you heard about his tour from The Raw Vegan Network e-newsletter)

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INFO FROM OUR ONLINE RAW COURSE

The following is from our online raw certification course.

Learn more about the course at http://www.therawvegannetwork.com/course.htm

Healing Herbs:
For centuries people have gathered and used herbs to use as medicine.
However with the advent of the pharmaceutical industry we have seen many
useful herbal remedies forgotten. You can not patent an herb. Therefore
investors are not interested in herbs. And investors make the multi-trillion
dollar pharmaceutical world go round

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Understanding herbs by their dispensing forms

Herbs come in many different forms. The most common are crude herbs, powders, tinctures, capsules, gelcaps, salves, oils and teas.

Crude herbs are simply collected and dried, then cut and sifted. This is the original way herbs have been prepared since the dawn of time.

Powders are simply ground crude herbs. You can use powders to make herbal tea or ingest them in their natural form.

Teas are aqueous extractions of crude herbs or herbal powders.

Tinctures are extracts made by soaking herbs in solutions designed to draw out their virtues. Alcohol is the most common soaking solution for tinctures.

Capsules are simply powdered herbs or concentrated herbal extracts that have been put into gelatin capsules.

Tablets are simply powdered herbs or concentrated herbal extracts with a substance added, and then pressed into tablets by a machine.

Gelcaps are sealed gelatin capsules that hold either tinctures or concentrated liquid herbal extracts.

Understanding some herbal actions

There are hundreds of terms used to describe herbal actions, but the following are the most common. These words are derived mostly from Western herbal tradition.

Adaptogens are strengthening herbs that bring balance back to the body no matter what the direction of imbalance.

Alternatives are herbs that increase elimination of metabolic waste via the liver, large intestines, lungs, lymphatic system, skin and kidneys. Examples are burdock root, dandelion root and red clover blossom.

Antiseptic herbs are those that can be applied to the body externally to inhibit bacterial growth. Examples are tea tree oil and oregano oil.

Diuretics are herbs that stimulate the flow of urine and help remove fluids from the body. Examples are dandelion leaf and coffee.

Emollient herbs are those applied externally to soften and sooth skin. Olive oil is a common example.

Expectorants are herbs that assist the body in expelling mucus from the upper respiratory tract. Licorice root is a common example.

Laxative herbs are those that stimulate or promote bowel movement. There are two classes of laxative herbs: bulk-forming laxatives that increase the water and bulk of the stool and stimulant laxatives that invigorate the muscles of the lower bowel. Examples are flaxseed (bulk-forming) and rhubarb root and senna (stimulant).

Stimulants are herbs that increase metabolism and mental activity. Examples are ephedra, coffee bean and ginseng root.

Tonics are herbs that strengthen or tone general energy, specific organs or organ systems. They act to strengthen the immune system and can help slow the aging process. Examples are ginseng root, Siberian ginseng, astragalus root.

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FEATURED NETWORK MEMBER

alejandra_hernando@hotmail.com

Hi, my name is Alejandra Hernando, I live in Mexico City and I am a Raw Vegan. Four years ago, I didn’t know anything about raw food, but my daughter knew better. She was born with many food allergies, but nobody believed us because doctors said that you can’t be allergic to something you haven’t eaten. She has been breastfed since day one, but when she was 1 month old, we knew something was wrong. She couldn’t sleep, she was very colicky and she had what the doctors called “reflux”, but I was in contact with La Leche League in Mexico and they told me that my baby could have an intolerance (allergy) to cow’s milk that I was consuming. I started my journey to raw food even though at that time I didn’t even know it. I took off of my diet all dairy products to see if this was affecting my child, and guess what? She started to sleep better and she even stopped throwing up. We couldn’t believe it but in 2 weeks, she was another baby, but something was still getting her stomach upset so my Leader from La Leche Group told me to make a food diary and I make sure to put everything on the list.

I found out that what I eat takes about 6 hours to turn out in my milk, and I also found I had a very sensitive baby. The first reaction was at 6 hours, but after 8 hours the reaction got worse. She is allergic to cow’s milk, sugar, soy, eggs, meat, fish, poultry, wheat (gluten intolerant or celiac), food colorings (yellow 5 and caramel color were the worst), food additives (monosodium glutamate gave us a very hard time, almost everything has it ), before she was three she couldn’t have any citric fruit (oranges, tomato, lime, tamarind, etc.), nuts or almonds (but she could have sunflower seeds and sesame seeds when she was about 2 years old), she couldn’t have honey until she was past 3 years old, pears gave us a hard time because the doctor recommended that we should give her cooked fruit because of all the allergies, but I think this made it worse.

Our daughter couldn’t eat many things because of her allergies and with some of them she goes into an anaphylactic shock (her throat swells and she stops breathing), we decided that we were not going to have that food at home. So we ended eating a lot healthier. Everything a mom eats goes into the milk, so I had to be very careful not to eat anything that could make my daughter get very ill. This makes me think about all the things that they give cows, like hormones, that we get to consume in a glass.

She started solids until 9 months old and we took a long time until she was eating most of her nutrients from food instead than my milk. In Mexico we are used to wean our babies between 6 and 9 months at the most, so I felt a bit weird when my baby was 2 years old and was drinking milk almost every 2 hours. She is a very tall and healthy girl, but nobody could believe that she didn’t drink cow’s milk or eat meat. I had to buy organic or pre wash all my vegetables and fruit in magnesium sulphate (Epsom salts) with water to eliminate pesticides and fertilizers. (1 teaspoon Epsom salts for every liter of water, soak for 1 hour, then rinse and ready to eat, this really changes the taste and they last longer. Give it a try!) I went on a trip to Texas and bought some books when she was about 15 months old and found allergy cook books which helped me to cook without milk, wheat, soy, eggs, well all allergens and helped me prepare nice things because I was having a hard time not eating milk or wheat. So this started my transition to raw food. I was a Vegetarian, but I did consume dairy products and eggs. We did consume rice, tortilla chips and fried potatoes.

When I understood my daughter’s way of eating I realized that everything she couldn’t eat, we were not supposed to eat, so my husband and myself made a commitment to ourselves about what we were going to consume. My La Leche League group was of a lot of help. I sometimes felt so frustrated I didn’t know why, up until now that I realized the horrible addiction I had to bread and milk and how hard it was on me to not fall. The group helped me go on breastfeeding my baby and not eating the things that made her ill, and then I found out I was healing myself doing that. Now I have a Raw Vegan Family. My husband, my daughter and myself now are giving testimony of this way of living. This lifestyle has changed us all and now it’s the time to touch others the way I was touched. It’s my turn to give back what has been given to me and this is what I am doing right now.

Now I just started the first website in Spanish, the first one of its kind, about green smoothies and how to increase the amount of raw organic fruits and vegetables in your diet. Visit us at www.comefrutasyverduras.com.mx

I also launched a campaign using green smoothies. You can see pictures and videos of the campaign on our site at www.comefrutasyverduras.com.mx/videos.html Come join us and spread the word.

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FAVORITE RECIPES

Alejandra Hernando

Mexico City, Mexico

alejandra_hernando@hotmail.com

My first recipe is a carrot dill soup. It's really easy and it was one of the recipes I started out with. About 3 cups carrot juice, 1 avocado, and 1 teaspoon dried dill.  Directions: Juice the carrots, blend with avocado and dill. You can heat it up a little bit if you are new to raw food. One way to do this is to heat in the same way breast milk is heated. You heat up some water, turn off the stove, and then put in the soup in a bowl inside. It's easy and it's dillicious.

Marinated mushrooms

Finely slice the mushrooms, a few green onions, the leaves of a few sprigs of epazote finely chopped (this is widely used in Mexico, and I think it's called wormseed), a little olive oil, 1 pressed garlic clove, lime juice to taste, salt to taste. Mix everything and let it marinate a few minutes to a couple hours.

Almond milk with cardamom

Prepare your almond milk with blender or with a nut or seed milk maker and blend with a few 3-6 seeds of cardamom and 2 dates or some raisins. This makes a tasty variation of milk and you adjust the sweetness according to your own taste. We sometimes drink it with raisins, and sometimes without them. My 4 year old daughter loves this almond milk

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PRODUCTS

**Need help getting started with incorporating healthy raw food choices into your diet and maintaining the raw vegan lifestyle?  Put together an entire holiday feast or a light meal.  Mostly Raw Recipes by Vickie Fisher (owner of The Raw Vegan Network) is available at www.therawvegannetwork.com/productindex.htm

**The Raw Vegan Network is offering juicers, distillers and dehydrators for sale. Products are available at www.therawvegannetwork.com/productindex.htm .

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BACK ISSUES

 If you are interested in receiving back issues of The Raw Vegan Network e-newsletters, they are available at http://archive.therawvegannetwork.com/  .

MARCH 2005: Health Tip: Juicing

                        Network Member: Belinda Stinson-Head Ph.D., Decatur, GA

                        Recipes: Japanese Sesame Noodles, Raw Apple Carrot Cake

APRIL 2005: Health Tip: Organic Gardening

                      Network Member: Erica Albanese, Gold Hill, OR

                      Recipes: Almond Joy Smoothie, Carob-Mint Candies

MAY 2005: Health Tip: Physical Fitness

                   Featured Member: Faye Hunt, Naples, FL

                   Recipes: Tomato Salad with Mint Dressing, Kale with Raisins and Pine

                        Nuts, Soup Stock, On the Run Tomato Soup, Honey Mustard Dressing

JUNE 2005: Health Tip: Genetically Engineered Foods

                     Featured Member: Debi Chase, Williams, CA

                     Recipe: Sunshine Girl Pate

JULY 2005: Health Tip: Household Chemicals              

                    Featured Member: Natalie Campbell-Djedje, Toronto, Canada

                    Recipe: Natalie’s Tropical Granola

AUGUST 2005: Health Tip: The Benefits of Sunlight

                          Featured Member: Derek Locker, Dallas, TX

                          Recipes: Creamy Spinach Soup, Potato Chips

SEPTEMBER 2005: Health Tip: Parasites

                                 Featured Member: Edward Rhinehart, Destrehan, LA

                                 Recipes: Avocado Soup, Stuffed Tomatoes

OCTOBER 2005: Health Tip: Sprouting

                             Featured Member: Kristi Lees, New Zealand

              Recipes: Peachy-Nan Dream, Banalmond Delights, Simple Carrot &

                      Sesame Salad

NOVEMBER 2005: Health Tip: Healthy Colon-Healthy You

                                Featured Member: Leslee Creighton, Yellow Springs, OH

                                Recipes: Fab Foliage Salad, Carrot Dressing

DECEMBER 2005: Health Tip: Keep it Simple

                                Recipes: Raw Foods to Take to Your Holiday Parties

JANUARY 2006:  Health Tip: Diet vs. Lifestyle

                             Featured Member: Joseph Lucier, Quincy, MA

                             Recipes: Kale Avocado Salad, Coconut Macaroons

FEBRUARY 2006: Health Tip: Simple Herbal Home Remedies

                              Featured Member: Caroline Wood, Ramstein AFB, Germany

                Recipes: Blended Fruit Salad, Pitted Dates with Raw Almonds

                Reader’s Recipe: Coconut Macaroons

MARCH 2006: Health Tip: Heating Our Food

                        Featured Member: Nell Neufeld, Austin, TX

                        Recipes: Raw Chocolate Smoothie, Papaya Ice Cream, Mint Fudge

                        Reader’s Recipes: Chilled Raw Choc. Fudge, Onion Bread,

                                                    Coconut Shake

APRIL 2006: Health Tip: Stress

      Featured Member: Peggy McDonnell, Gold Hill, OR

                      Recipes: Cream of Celery Soup, Butterscotch Pudding

MAY 2006:   Health Tip: Common Drug Interaction with Herbs, Vitamins and Food

                     Featured member: Cathy Dance, Marietta, GA

     Recipes: Vanilla Beanie-Banana Shake, Nutty Chocolate Banana Shake, All Berry Shake

JUNE 2006:   Health Tip: Obesity

                       Featured Member: Rose McMullen, Ontario

                       Recipes: Green Smoothie, Chocolate Mint Fudge

JULY 2006:  Health Tip: Alternative Medicine

                     Featured Member: Anne Mark, Mountain View, CA

                 Recipes: Japanese Cucumber Salad, Green Smoothie, Chef Ed’s Heirloom Salad

AUGUST 2006: Health Tip: Healing Crisis

                          Featured Member: Vicki Robb, Middle East

                          Recipes: Avocado Salad, Spicy Dressing, Carrot/Coconut Energizer     

SEPTEMBER 2006: Health Tip: Heavy Metal Toxicity

   Featured Member: Judy Meisterheim, Lexington, MI

   Recipes: Raw Taco, Carob Banana Pops

OCTOBER 2006: Health Tip: Essential Fats

             Featured Member: Beth Ward, Alto, GA

                           Recipes: My Version of Tuna, Almond Butter Cookies

NOVEMBER 2006: Health Tip: Holiday Recipes: “Turkey”, Mushroom Gravy,

          Mashed Potatoes, Butternut Soup, Raw Holiday Fudge

                                       Featured Member: GeorGina (Georgie) Halpin, Appleton, GA

                                       Recipes: Banana/Raspberry Smoothie, TriColor Corn Salad

DECEMBER 2006: Christmas greetings.  No regular newsletter

JANUARY 2007: Health Tip: Best Choice of Food for Your Pets

                           Featured Member: Sasha Fisher, Raw Food Dog

                           Recipes: Sasha’s Raw Doggie Stew, Sasha’s Raw Fruit Delight

FEBRUARY 2007: Health Tip: Cancer

                              Featured Member: Scott Jackson, Northglenn, CO

                             Recipes: Scott’s Power Smoothie, Spaghetti, Rainbow Olive Salad

MARCH 2007: Health Tip: Food and Behavior

                         Featured Member: Linda Wooliever, Worcester, VT

                         Recipes: Fudge, Mexican “Rice”, Spicy Refried Beans

APRIL 2007: Health Tip: Spring Cleaning: Your Home and You

       Featured Network Member: Angela Elliott, San Diego, CA

       Favorite Recipes: Happy Porridge and Pecan Milk, The Ultimate Beauty Drink,   Strawberries & Whipped Cream     

MAY 2007:  Health Tip: Greenhouse Gardening

                    Featured Network Member: Karen Shifa, United Kingdom

     Favorite Recipes: Karen’s On the Spot Recipes

JUNE 2007: Health Tip: Death Begins in the Colon

                     Featured Network Member: Melissa Gilbert, CO

                     Favorite Recipes: Spring Veggie Dip, The Happy Mango Smoothie

JULY/AUGUST 2007: Health Tip: Take Time for Yourself

                     Featured Network Member: Vasiliki Panos, Fresno, CA

                                  Favorite Recipes: Brownies, Vasiliki’s Special Salad Dressing, Miso Soup

SEPTEMBER 2007: Health Tip: Herbs for Health

                                Featured Network Member: June Roca, Glendale, CA

                                Favorite Recipes: Ampalaya Salad and Seafood Unfried

OCTOBER 2007: Restaurant Review: Char Surratt, Raw Vegan Network member, NM

Featured Network Member: Tiffany Hillman, Phoenix, AZ

Favorite Recipes: Pistachio Hummus, Tri Color Custard

NOVEMBER 2007: Wise Choices: Choose activity over inactivity

   Walking the Walk: For injury free exercise and walking stretching is essential

                               Food for Thought: Whole Person Exercise

  Featured Network Member: Janelle Morgan, Bothell, Washington

 Favorite Recipes: Zucchini Pasta al Pesto, Not Peanut Butter Cookies 

DECEMBER 2007: Creamy Spinach Soup, Nut Loaf, Mashed Potatoes, Quick and Easy Gravy 

JANUARY 2008: Featured Network Member: Mary Jean D’Agostini, Caspian, MI

             Favorite Recipes: Hummus, Very Versatile Vinaigrette

FEBRUARY 2008: Featured Network Member: Linda Clark, Reno Nevada

Favorite Recipes: Onion Bread, Spinach Smoothie, Awesome Fudge

MARCH 2008: Featured Network Member: Marisol Martinez, Altadena, CA

          Favorite Recipes: Green Citrus Power Smoothie, Avocado Beet Salad

         Interesting Facts to Know: Exercise

APRIL 2008: Featured Network Member: Rose Andras, Beverly Hills, FL

       Favorite Recipes: Herb Cheese, Cashew Cheese, Raw Sweet Potato Casserole

                     Wise Choices: Stress Busters

May 2008: Featured Network Member: Angela Brand, Parker, CO

   Favorite Recipes:  Breakfast Parfait, Mamma Mia Marinara, High Desert Exfoliator

JUNE 2008: Featured Network Member: R. Bradford, Nutrition101

    Favorite Recipes: Ancho Pepper Guacamole, Hazelnut Mexican Meal

JULY 2008: Featured Network Member: Kristy Null, Salida, CO

                    Favorite Recipes: Dandelion Dream, Wild Water, Perfect Pesto

AUGUST 2008: Featured Network Member: Nancy Telfer, Stratford, Ont, Canada

                            Favorite Recipes: Mango Smoothie, Complete Meal Salad, Cacao Heaven

SEPTEMBER 2008: Featured Network Member: Teresa Miller, Modesto, CA

                                  Favorite Recipes: Raw Sprouted Hummus, Nut Loaf Patties

OCTOBER 2008: Featured Network Member: Stacey Barrington, Port Coquitlam, BC, Canada

             Favorite Recipes: Banana Boats, Banana Papaya “Ice Cream

NOVEMBER 2008: Featured Network Member: Angela Elliott, San Diego, CA

Favorite Recipes: Tomato Heaven, Dreamy Coconut Curry

DECEMBER 2008: Recipes: Carob Balls, Date Nugget, Candied Yams, The Whip

JANUARY 2009: Featured Network Member: Joel Odhner, PA

            Favorite Recipes: Pad Thai, Bry’s Power Protein Punch

FEBRUARY 2009: Featured Network Member: Peggy McDonnell, OR

   Favorite Recipes: Garlic Cranberry Dip, Dry Fruit Apple Sauce

MARCH 2009: Featured Network Member: Carolyn Akens, Cumming, GA

                           Favorite Recipes: Green Smoothie, Mango Citrus Dressing

APRIL  2009: No Newsletter

MAY 2009: Featured Network Member: Leah Cox, Seatac, WA

   Favorite Recipes: Raw Hummus, Carob Pudding

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At no time does The Raw Vegan Network spam anyone nor will your email be shared with any other listing.  If you feel you have received this e-newsletter in error, please let us know at info@therawvegannetwork.com. 

**Please email us with your feedback about the articles and recipes, and what you would like to see in up coming issues.  

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