linda’s blog

here’s the link: http://www.timesargus.com/article/20100720/FEATURES17/707209971

and here’s how it looked in the paper itself.

a fun little interview of lil ol me:

http://wholefoodeater.wordpress.com/2010/07/17/talkin-raw-with-linda-wooliever-vermont-fiddle-heads/

This week’s newsletter…

Hello Fiddle Heads People!

Hoping you are well and happy! Today’s been a day to get caught up with things: cleaning/organizing around the cafe, getting blog posts up, Facebook pictures up, making food and now this newsletter. It was a great week - I’m stoked to meet the good people that come in for the first time and also the repeat lovies have a special place in my heart. This week ahead we have these current specials posted and I’m thinking about making a raw meatloaf wrap and some RAWvioli so please stop in for some lunch or TO GO items. I’ve also made some gRAWnola, Breakfast Buckwheat Bars, LORAH balls and the dessert this week is the incredibly decandent HEAVENLY Layered Cake.

I also have new products in and sales going on! My FAVORITE things - YIPPEE! I have local soaps, lotions and massage oils from Honey Bee Soaps in Morrisville VT. I also have more Sea Chi skin care products. They are from Matt’s hometown so they are extended local! I have the most amazing meditation cards ever from 2 beautiful peeps that actually paid us a visit this week! They are called Cloud Dancing Cards. I have BEAUTIFUL, fair trade, palm wax, aromatherapy Chakra candles and I have Sandra Lory’s Mandala Botanicals - her elixirs are so glorious - I felt they were made just for me…

Check out my blog for recipes:

• divine chocolate mousse pie

Hours of operation

Tuesday - Friday: 10 am until 6 pm

Saturday: noon until 4 (unless you see the open sign out - if you see the open sign/flag, then come on in!)

Now for the specials: http://www.vt-fiddle.com/rawfood/fiddle_heads_cafe.php

Menu Items for this week and next:

Drinks:

• Good EFAs (Essential Fatty Acids) Milky Shake

• Pink Smoothie (Calcium Rich and full of sprouts)

• Chocolate Smoothie (Calcium/Magnesium Rich and yes, full of green sprouts!)

• Green Smoothie (Calcium, Potassium, EFAs - green nutrition!)

• My Favorite Juice

• Drink Your Facial Juice

• HEAVENLY Layered Cake

• Kefir Soda

• Ginger Kombucha from Toll a Bell Farm

• Hot Cacao

• Hot Teas/Coffees

++++++++++++

Lunch Items:

• The Dipsters: 2 choices of Cheddary Cheeze and Italian Garden Cheeze. Ginger Crackers will be what you use to do the dippin’! ginger crackers: flax seeds, bragg’s liquid aminos, ground ginger, garlic powder
• RAWsome Wrap: Pick your potion: Cheddary Cheeze and Italian Garden Cheeze. The wrap is kale or collard leaves. The filling: dollop of your choice of salad or cheeze, house kim chi, carrots, sprouts, dulse and some of the best black olives ever.
• UN Pizza - wheat and dairy free! crust: sprouted buckwheat, flax, ground ginger, italian seasoning, garlic, mild chili powder, sea salt, lemon juice. Cheddary Cheeze. raw pizza sauce: sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil, mild chili powder, agave, sea salt, italian seasoning, cayenne. marinated veggies: onions, mushrooms, red peppers, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, agave, Bragg’s liquid aminos, italian seasoning, cumin, sea salt and garlic.
• RAWsome Chili with “Sour Creme” - sprouted barley, bell peppers, red onions, corn, carrots, garlic, yellow onions, tomatoes, oranges, dates, sun-dried tomatoes, Bragg’s liquid aminos, curry, cumin, italian seasoning, chili powder, cayenne. Sour creme is made from cashews, onion and sea salt.

Have you seen the inside of our cafe/store yet? Well, here it is!

New Products and Sale Items

Check out what is new and what is on sale!

Be sure to check out the calendar pages to see what is going on in our little world here.

Thank you for your RAWsome time and energy! Please contact me for information or other raw goodies (both bulk and prepared.)

In joy and in health,

Linda

Vermont Fiddle Heads

http://www.vt-fiddle.com

Please check out our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Worcester-VT/Vermont-Fiddle-Heads/63781489465?ref=nf -  Become a fan and check out photos, events and notes. MM-kay?
P.S. Keep checking back on the shop. Adding products as we speak! http://vt-fiddle.com/shop/

P.P.S. Need some bulk food items? Or great reading/educational material? Hella awesome skincare products? We’ve got: Healing Cancer from the Inside Out DVD, Pacifica Perfume Products, Candles and Lotions, WiseWays Herbals, Sea Chi skincare, The China Study book, Joel Fuhrman books and audio, heavy duty dehydrators, new products by Health Force Nutritionals, really raw oats, raw nori sheets, chia seeds, turkish mulberries, dandy blend (a dandelion coffee substitute), wasabi powder, kelp noodles, dandelion leek miso by south river, garlic red pepper miso by south river, Eating for Beauty by David Wolfe, Naked Chocolate by David Wolfe and Shazzie, Sun Warrior Biofermented Rice Protein powder (in natural and chocolate flavors),  marine phytoplankton, lucuma powder, yacon slices, really raw cashews, artisana coconut butter and goji berries. Please contact me if you are interested in getting any of these items.

With everything we sell, items can be picked up or I can mail them to you.

Hello Fiddle Heads People!

Happy RAWlidays to you! This is a crazy time of year but a fun time of year. We’ve had lots of snow here and it’s been C-O-L-D the last couple of days. I’ve got my layers on and I’m making lots of good food to keep our tummies full and our bodies healthy. I wish you could each come out to our cafe so’s I could make you some good food.

I also have more products in. My FAVORITE things - YIPPEE! I have local soaps, lotions and massage oils from Honey Bee Farms in Morrisville VT. I also have more Sea Chi skin care products. They are from Matt’s hometown so they are extended local! I have the most amazing meditation cards ever from 2 beautiful peeps. They are called Cloud Dancing Cards. I have BEAUTIFUL, fair trade, palm wax, aromatherapy Chakra candles that are flying off the shelves and I have Sandra Lory’s Mandala Botanicals - her elixirs are so glorious - I felt they were made just for me… More new things below…

Hours of operation

Tuesday - Friday: 10 am until 6 pm

Saturday: noon until 4 (unless you see the open sign out - if you see the open sign/flag, then come on in!)

NOTE: Next week we will be closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We’ll re-open the week of January 4th at our regularly posted hours. (Although you might see an open sign up next week. Call first to be sure.) HAPPY NEW YEAR TOO!
Now for the specials: http://www.vt-fiddle.com/rawfood/fiddle_heads_cafe.php

Menu Items for this week and next:

Drinks:

• Good EFAs (Essential Fatty Acids) Milky Shake

• Pink Smoothie (Calcium Rich and full of sprouts)

• Chocolate Smoothie (Calcium/Magnesium Rich and yes, full of green sprouts!)

• Green Smoothie (Calcium, Potassium, EFAs - green nutrition!)

• My Favorite Juice

• Drink Your Facial Juice

• HEAVENLY Chocolate Mousse Pie

• Kefir Soda

• Kombucha

• Hot Cacao

• Hot Teas

++++++++++++

Lunch Items:

• The Dipsters: 2 choices of NOT Tuna, Sunshine Salad, Sunflower Seed Cheeze or RAWvarti Cheeze. Ginger Crackers will be what you use to do the dippin’! ginger crackers: flax seeds, bragg’s liquid aminos, ground ginger, garlic powder
• RAWsome Wrap: Pick your potion: NOT Tuna, Sunshine Salad, Sunflower Seed Cheeze or RAWvarti Cheeze. The wrap is kale or collard leaves. The filling: dollop of your choice of salad or cheeze, house kim chi, carrots, sprouts, dulse and some of the best black olives ever.
• UN Pizza - wheat and dairy free! crust: sprouted buckwheat, flax, ground ginger, italian seasoning, garlic, mild chili powder, sea salt, lemon juice. Sunflower Cheeze. raw pizza sauce: sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil, mild chili powder, agave, sea salt, italian seasoning, cayenne. marinated veggies: onions, mushrooms, red peppers, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, agave, Bragg’s liquid aminos, italian seasoning, cumin, sea salt and garlic.

Have you seen the inside of our cafe/store yet? Well, here it is!

Still have time for the RAWlidays:

Along with the new products mentioned above, we have gifts from Dryad Design, incense, soaps, lotions from Sea Chi and Pacifica, gorgeous handbags by Offhand Designs, essential oil perfumes, candles, books and more

• Dryad Design - a local wood carver and artist, Paul Borda, turns his gorgeous creations into statuary, placques, jewelry and more

• Pacifica Perfume - my absolute favorite for essential oil lotions, soaps, perfumes and candles. I fell in love with them immediately and if you’ve ever tried these lotions or perfumes, you’ll know how incredible they are. My favorites are Tibetan Mountain Retreat Body Butter, Tahitian Gardenia Body Butter and Waikiki Pikake Body Butter (and I love/have the essential oil perfumes, soaps and candles, too!)

• Vermont Fiddle Heads t-shirts - made from organic cotton and low impact dyes, these shirts look hella cool and feel even better.

• Reusable Tea Kit - let us put together a gift for you of some of our favorite teas and two of our Reusable Hemp Tea bags. We have it all together in little boxes that make perfect little gifts for folks at work or home.

• Sea Chi - the only lotion I use on my face. It feels like silk and you can eat the ingredients (but your skin eats them instead.) Many people comment on my skin and I thank them profusely. I think my diet plays a key role but I also think this Sea Chi helps a great deal, too. It has kombucha in it.

• Offhand Designs Bags - My friend introduced me to this wonderful company. I love the bags and I have several to choose from.

What else is new?

• HERBS, GLORIOUS HERBS! Medicinal and Culinary Herbs are now available in bulk. We have chinese herbs, ayurvedic herbs, medicinal herbs, culinary herbs, herbs for making incenses. They will get posted online soon, we are having fun just getting them into the jars and labeling them at the moment. Stop in to see the colors and gather some for your home apothecary.

Still on! A few of my paintings are still up for the entire month of Decemeber at the Shoe Horn. These are hand dyed silks. Here is one that I did below: it is 4 feet by 6 feet.

You can check my Facebook page for more pictures. I have to take some good close ups. There are many other silks to look at. Some I hand sewed glass beads on and some I didn’t. A lot of the silks are based on some medieval paintings that have inspired me.

Thank you for your RAWsome time and energy! Please contact me for information or other raw goodies (both bulk and prepared.)

In joy and in health,

Linda

Vermont Fiddle Heads

http://www.vt-fiddle.com

Please check out our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Worcester-VT/Vermont-Fiddle-Heads/63781489465?ref=nf -  Become a fan and check out photos, events and notes. MM-kay?
P.S. Keep checking back on the shop. Adding products as we speak! http://vt-fiddle.com/shop/

P.P.S. Need some bulk food items? Or great reading/educational material? Hella awesome skincare products? We’ve got: Healing Cancer from the Inside Out DVD, Pacifica Perfume Products, Candles and Lotions, WiseWays Herbals, Sea Chi skincare, The China Study book, Joel Fuhrman books and audio, heavy duty dehydrators, new products by Health Force Nutritionals, really raw oats, raw nori sheets, chia seeds, turkish mulberries, dandy blend (a dandelion coffee substitute), wasabi powder, kelp noodles, dandelion leek miso by south river, garlic red pepper miso by south river, Eating for Beauty by David Wolfe, Naked Chocolate by David Wolfe and Shazzie, Sun Warrior Biofermented Rice Protein powder (in natural and chocolate flavors),  marine phytoplankton, lucuma powder, yacon slices, really raw cashews, artisana coconut butter and goji berries. Please contact me if you are interested in getting any of these items.

With everything we sell, items can be picked up or I can mail them to you.

I’ve been out of greens at home so the past few days, this has been my breakfast:

It’s a very thick and filling shake:

coconut water
1 banana
~2-3 Tbsp nut or seed butter
~ 30 or so chlorella tablets

Blend in the VitaMix and drink and enjoy!.

Well It’s Monday and I woke up early in a bright bright room. I’m so happy and grateful for the warmth and sun. What a great thing to have before the winter begins in VT. (We’ve had some very frosty nights so far.) It was 70 degrees here yesterday and I’m like sweating and feeling all warm. What a wonderful change.

This morning I had my hot cacao drink. I threw in a pinch of Matcha (stone ground green tea), some immuno-mushroom blend, camu-camu berry powder to really help get the mushrooms activated, cacao powder, agave and this time I used a bit of coconut oil for kicks and grins. I’m really not used to oil in the morning but it was nice. I also had some of my ayurvedic herbal paste, some other lovely herbs and flower essences - my healthy woman elixir that I love from Mandala Botanicals (I’m selling her stuff now! YAY! I love her elixirs SOOOOO much.) And then before I left, I made a green smoothie to sip on throughout the rest of the morning. Green smoothie is: lettuces, banana, green apple with seeds, chia seeds, cashews, water, agave, & bee pollen. One man looked at it this morning and said, “well, I know it’s not pea soup because it’s morning. So what is it?” Very cute.

There’s about 20 people here. The workshop teachers said this is a small group but it seems like a great size to me. There’s 2 people from Quebec, 1 from Montreal, someone from Colorado, Texas, San Luis Obispo, Michigan, Spain, Bethesda, MD, NJ, Astonia (now living in Brooklyn), 2 peeps from VT (me included), VA and other places I can’t recall at the moment. Age ranges are 20s to late 60s. It’s wonderful. One gray haired momma said she’s been having visions for 6 years - got tested for everything and no, she’s not crazy and no she doesn’t have brain tumors. She said she decided if she has to live with these visions she might as well learn what to do with them. Love that attitude. Sounds very sensible.

Well, I’m off to the morning classes. I’m very excited and yet calm about this. I’m looking forward to hanging out with my spirit guides for 2 weeks! Last night’s journeys were wonderful. This morning at 6 am, I rolled over and was startled to hear big bird wings flapping - like I startled a bird. Windows were closed and of course no big bird in the room. I went down to make my hot cacao drink - came back in the room and heard the bird’s wings flapping again. So maybe I should put a little something out to honor the bird spirit in the room.

OK, I’m off! Have a great day! I’m sure I’ll write more.

hugs and kisses,

Linda

The kids are in bed and it’s quiet now so I thought it would be a good time to write a little bit.

So I wanted to write about the wonderful weekend that we had Natasha here. Wow! Can’t believe it was a week ago now!

Natasha Kyssa is a glowing and healthy woman I met about 4 years ago at a class we both attended. I remember when I first met her, I thought she was so radiant that I totally wanted to know what she was doing because whatever it was, it had to be good! We’ve kept in touch a little here and there over the years. I was going to attend her SimplyRaw Festival a year ago but it just didn’t work out for me at that time. I was totally bummed because I know it was great fun and I’m looking forward to when she has one again. I’m hoping to have my act together more so I’m fully prepared for doing these shows. (But probably I’ll be winging it!)

Natasha bought several of our hemp nut milk bags to have at the festival and I’m super grateful for her support of what we’re doing here at VT Fiddle Heads. She didn’t do a festival this past spring/summer because she was putting out a BOOK! OMG! How freakin cool is that?! I was so excited to see it! It’s absolutely beautiful - done so well with the 2 color printing inside and the full cover glossy cover (can you tell I’ve been into the whole corporate marketing thing? I was/am the marcom girl… LOL) You can totally check out the book via her facebook page.The name of her book is The SimplyRaw Living Foods Detox Manual and I’m so ordering some for my store and website! It’s such a good book - user-friendly is the term we’re all using here!

So she said that she wanted to come to VT as a part of her book tour and would I mind helping her by doing a casual potluck and/or meet at a book store or health food store that might want to have her book. She wanted to be in Burlington so the natural place that I thought might be eager to carry her book was Healthy Living. I contacted them and they asked for a copy so I sent them one. (I bought a few copies just to have after Natasha graciously gave me one. I just wanted to have them around, ya know?) Turns out they dug the book and wanted to carry it! YIPPEEEE! So they made a date to have her there and told me it was all set.

The book signing at Healthy Living was scheduled for a Saturday and then there was her request for a potluck. I haven’t done a potluck since about February or March and yet I knew of this wonderful couple named Joshua and Carrie-Anne who have been putting them on for a few months right in Burlington! They’ve sort of teamed up with another woman named Geniel who also does raw food and who *also* is in Burlington! (Can’t believe VT is getting more raw-conscious!) I had been hoping to get to one of Joshua’s potlucks since he started them and we’d been in contact here and there for a few months. I wrote to him one day saying that Natasha was coming and would he mind doing a potluck for her since she was going to be in Burlington. He asked Geniel about it and she said YES! This was so wonderful that the dates worked out and the timing worked out. Natasha sent us some posters and I posted them up around various towns with my kids - it made for a fun few hours. We felt like we were a in a band or something… We also posted up the Matt Monarch and Angela Stokes posters up that same day.

Saturday came and I arrived at Healthy Living to see where this book signing was going to happen. I thought they were going to put her in the middle of the store, kinda where the books are. NOPE! They put her right by the front door! Not what I was expecting but so totally awesome! Here’s a photo from Natasha’s FB page (I hope she doesn’t mind! FULL Photo props to her husband for taking these pictures. They were just too nice.) There was raw food woman in the middle of barbeque stuff for sale! I loved that endorsement of health right there, smack dab in the middle!

Natasha Kyssa of SimplyRaw in Ontario Canada with her first book out now!

It was great to see her again - she looked as wonderful and healthy as she did 4 years ago! We totally chatted. My friend Joyce was there too and we all chatted for quite a while. (Thanks for the patience of Healthy Living, our husbands and my kids for the 2+ hour chat at the front of the store!) Natasha had little samples of raw carrot cake (which was a recipe from her book) and you know it’s good because my kids were asking for seconds!

So if that wasn’t cool enough, the next day was Sunday and the day for the potluck! I brought some of my RAWsome chili with the sour “creme” and brought it with me. The potluck at Geniel’s house was absolutely wonderful. It was a great, relaxing setting to meet and chat with people about anything. The food looked incredible too and I was gifted by Fern and her hubbie some of their delicious fennel pesto! Joyce also made a gorgeous raspberry lemon pie (you can totally see it right there on her blog.) Everyone’s food was gorgeous looking and I’m sure delicious tasting. I so wish I was hungry that day! Anyway, I got caught up a little bit with Natasha on the past 4 years and we totally agreed it would be hella fun to take a little road trip together (with PATTI — another woman we met at our class.)

It was a lovely social occasion for sure, all the way around. GREAT to meet Geniel finally - great to see Joshua and Carrie-Anne - great to see everyone faces there at the potluck!

three very RAWsome people in a room full of RAWsome people! This is Natasha, Carrie-Anne and Joshua

I also found out that night that Natasha was at other book signings at book stores in Burlington! Way to go, Natasha! That’s very cool! I’m super pleased to know you and wish you many many blessings. You are very down to earth and you are doing good good things. Keep up the great work!

Joyce, Natasha and me at the potluck.

OK, so writing about the event last night - Matt Monarch and Angela Stokes did a Raw Food Transformation Talk in Montpelier on Aug 11th at 6 pm…

Matt -n- Angela

We got to the church to set up around 4:30 pm. If I wanted to, I’d write about the EXCELLENT day I had the day before with Joshua helping me prepare for Tuesday. But for now, I’ll keep it to just Tuesday and say THANK YOU virtually again to Joshua Pfeil for helping me so much. I was absolutely grateful. By the time we got there, Matt and Angela were already there. They had just finished setting up like FIVE tables or something crazy with all their inventory. It was totally amazing to see. They said they were wishing that every event could be held at the place we had - nice wide open space and plenty of room for chairs and tables. That was good to hear. This is definitely their livelihood and it showed that they’ve got this all figured out.

Can you see the tables filled with all of their inventory on the right there?

I set up my little table and I put up a table for Geniel Fife. She is the only other raw food lady making food for stores here in VT. She a grandmom and she’s amazing! I just met her on Sunday at her potluck that we had for Natasha Kyssa. I just instantly liked Geniel. Geniel wanted to set up a table to put out samples and I said, “Absolutely!”

On my table, I had a little section for my brochures and business cards, plus had some hemp nut milk bags for sale. We didn’t want to bring any nylon bags because we figured the Monarch’s would bring our nylon bags (turns out they didn’t put out our nylon bags because they wanted us to sell ours! How funny!) So we just put the hemp out and only one size: the 9 x 12. I put out some cookies that Matt decided to bring - the hazelnut spice cookies. I put out some plates to hold the chocolate orange heaven cheeze cake that Joshua and I made as well as the VitaMinteral Green Cheeze Cake that I made. I put out some fudge balls that I made which Joshua rolled out in coconut flakes. Plus I had 3 gallons of nut milk in the coolers ready - 2 gallons of hazelnut milk sweetened with agave and 1 gallon of hazenut chai. Angela asked if I brought any of my god/goddess butters because she loved them so much. So we sent Matt home to get them as I didn’t have enough space to bring the first trip around. OH! Also brought some tee-shirts but we had no real place to show them but at least I was wearing one, Emily was wearing one and Cat was wearing one! I gave one to Angela too so that she could represent as well!

There's my table there on the left with some of my raw food items and next to that was Geniel's table with samples.

god butters and goddess butters

my raw chocolate almond FRUITS OF THE EARTH fudge balls! YUM! these are delicious!

Raw Chocolate Orange Heavenly Cheeze Cake

Here we are at our little desserts and treats table!

So we were all set up and then we realized we forgot a sign for outside! Thankfully the church had a sandwich board and Cat/Emily went to the drawing board, got some poster paper and I gave Cat a marker to write out signs for the sandwich board. The two of them put that out on the street, we opened the doors and in came in the guests! We had 24 paid guests and if you included me and my worker bees, we had 30 people listening to what Matt and Angela had to say! That was so cool! Pat, my neighbor and friend, came and she took my little point-and-shoot digital camera and took many pictures which you can see posted on my fiddleheads facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Worcester-VT/Vermont-Fiddle-Heads/63781489465?ref=nf#/album.php?aid=137458&id=63781489465

There are my little greeters on the way home from a long night. Look! They are still shiny and happy! YAYYYY!!!

As we let the guests settle in and peruse Matt/Angela’s table, we decided to start the talk. I said hello to everyone and welcomed our guests and we began. Matt started the talks. He talked about a wide range of raw food transformation - talking about many ways to adjust the diet for better health and vitality. Meanwhile, Angela was our first paying customer, buying a cup of chai milk and loved it. (YAYYY!) He talked about spirituality, colon hydrotherapy and various transformations that take place in the body when we clean up our diet. I saw a bunch of note taking happening which was way cool! I totally found Mr Monarch to be quite fun to watch as he spoke - he’s a sweetie and he definitely has experimented with himself and read a WHOLE bunch along the way. He kept calling himself an extremist and I found myself chuckling at the things he was saying. I’m SURE some (or maybe a lot) of what he said was maybe the first time people heard of such things, but for me, it was like preaching to the choir… And I needed to hear the extra preaching to be honest.

For me, I am finding that I JONES to hear what people are doing who have been doing raw food longer than I. I still find that I’ve got a lot of conditioning/mental programming around stuff that I know makes no sense really, but there’s fragments still there… This is why I SO enjoy hearing what these guys are doing - totally validates that what I’m doing is along the norm. For example, I was listening to Matt talk about eating less and how the body goes through healing/detox and also how the body starts to feel really really good on less food. It’s just a matter of finding the right amount of food that works for you. This is what I’ve been evolving to in the last 6 months or so. I don’t eat a lot most days. Well, it seems like every other day I find that I’m hungry. Of course I have that conditioning in me like the 1950s housewife that goes, “three square meals a day!” And for me, that doesn’t feel quite right in my body anymore. So when Natasha was here this past weekend, I asked her about it and she nodded and said, “that sounds about right.” And last night Matt said pretty much the same thing. So, for me, who has been on this raw journey for 8 years now, doing it quite by myself (no spa retreats yet!) and happy to experiment, it’s just nice to hear these validations. It was hella fun to just listen to all that he had to say and I was also THRILLED that these words were coming out of someone else’s mouth for my kids to hear! YIPPPEEEEE!!!

Matt Monarch giving his Raw Food Transformation Talk, Aug 11, 2009

So back to the night. Matt talked for quite a while and answered a lot of questions. He announced it was time to take a break and so people got up and went over to their table to ask more questions and we had some visitors at our table, too. It was just fun talking with people and then Matt comes over with his little video camera and asks us if we want to be on his little TV show. Well, this is something that we weren’t expecting! I was totally not prepared but it was still totally fun. I only hope he edits a bit because I was very silly sounding, I’m sure. But whatever! It’s all good. Matt M. asked Matt W. about healing his asthma on the raw food diet and me about all the slew of things that I’ve reversed. I am not exactly sure how coherent I was. I was still pretty much like “NOT expecting this!” but like I said it was fun.

There he is with his little TV camera!

Here we are being interviewed for The Raw Food World TV Show. What a riot!

Just added! A link to his TV show here: http://mattmonarch.blogspot.com/2009/08/healing-asthma-with-raw-foods-episode.html

So then Angela’s turn came up to talk and she talked about her own transformation going from being 300 lbs and morbidly obese to losing more than half her weight on the raw food diet. She talked about her journey, her favorite foods to eat, the foods that are best to eat each day, tips and tricks to how to eat this way while you are traveling, etc. She talked about her ideology and how it’s changed as well as how her own emotions have changed on her raw food journey. She took questions. One of the best questions was “How many calories is in bee pollen?” And I loved the answer that Angela gave - she said she likes to equate things to nature so she said, “We’re the only animals that think it’s necessary to count calories. No animal in the woods is out there taking out a calorie counter and measuring his food.” I love when the raw food dudes talk like this. David Wolfe does that too. It makes sense when you really think about it. She said (as others have) that no other animal puts fire to their food and yet we do and feel that it is best. To her, this is crazy thinking and I love that. Again, she talked like Matt Monarch did about “wild and crazy” things and yet to my ears, it was very much welcomed. I think it might have been a lot to digest (pun intended) for a lot of people and probably for some it was their first exposure to this kinda stuff but how great is that?! Everyone saw 2 people that are articulate and healthy looking talking about their own experiences. Wonderful wonderful!

Angela Stokes-Monarch giving her Raw Food Transformation Talk, Aug 11 2009

The night ended and people stayed and bought things or asked questions. It was a very inspiring night! Everyone left with smiles so we did something good, me thinks! The Monarchs had about 5 empty boxes from their inventory so hopefully they made some money to help them continue what they are doing.

We helped them pack up their RAV4 full to the brim with alllllll their stuff, gave them hugs and sent them on their merry way. I was totally hoping they could check out lots more fun stuff here in Central VT but they were off to get to Buffalo for their next day’s event.

from left to right: Matt Monarch, Linda Wooliever, kiddos, Angela Stokes-Monarch - YAY!

So that was the day! Pretty cool, right?

P.S. I’ll write more about the weekend with Natasha tomorrow!

Hello Good People!

I hope this newsletter finds you well and happy. Things have been busy busy with our nut milk bags! May has been a wonderful month so far. We made our first delivery of our 12 x 12 hemp nut milk bags to Vita Mix in the middle of April and are just so excited about that. Vita Mix is a great company and we’re totally thrilled to work with them. We’re selling our nut milk bags to lots of people/companies/places and SOOO happy to offer high quality bags so people can make their own juices, nut milks, seed milks and easy sprouts. And let me honor them now: Cafe Gratitude, our first wholesale customer; Matt Monarch, VitaMix, SimplyRaw, Rainbow Grocers, Catch a Healthy Habit, the Green Umbrella, Raw New England Community, Essene Health Bread/York Raw Food Group, and loads of other individuals, groups, stores. In fact, I really need to put a page on the website with this to show our deep gratitude and support. Great news also is that we’ve found a source for biodegradable bags! So all our products will be in biodegradable packaging - not just our food! YIPPEEEEEEEEE!!!!

I have to tell you that I’ve had some serious spring fever (which is why you haven’t heard from me in a month!) We’ve been having great weather (yay! Sunhine!) and I’ve been walking between 4-7 miles each day. This is major for me as even last year, I didn’t have the ability to do this without great pain. I had an injury to my hip about 8 years ago and went to different health practitioners for it. One doctor told me that I was going to be in pain for the rest of my life. I said, “NO I’M NOT!” and went to a different doctor. In this past year, I’ve made great strides (literally and figuratively) with regards to my hip/leg pain and I’m WALKING AGAIN! I am so very grateful to have mobility, flexibility and to be pain-free, I can’t even begin to tell you. For me the missing link was exercise and I can tell you that my *whole* self is happy to be doing this again.

Other great news is that Matt’s asthma is soooo gone! He’s had asthma since he was a young kid and he said the other day that he’s very happy to feel as if he has normal lungs again! This is great news. I always knew his lungs would be healthy and clear.

This is a testament to the vegan diet - raw vegan with lots of healing greens. Low-fat, minimally processed, whole vegan foods. That’s where it’s at, baby! We’re both just looking and feeling great and soooooo grateful in the process. Baby steps! This is a journey and it takes as long as it takes. It’s all good stuff!

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RAW FOOD HAPS THIS WEEK AND BEYOND

• Raw food deliveries made to Hunger Mountain Coop and a St. J’s Food Coop yesterday. .We now have our raw food in St. Johnsbury! Wonderful wonderful! They are even carrying my gRAWnola! Please support your local coops and ask for more raw food!

• Our downloadable recipe book -  over 70 smoothie, juices and soup recipes:

http://vt-fiddle.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=52

• NEW IN STOCK: Healing Cancer from the Inside Out DVDs are here as well as their RAVE Diet books and EATING DVDs. This Mike Anderson guy is another guy that I’m happy is around doing what he’s doing. Advocating for a low-fat, whole-food, plant-based diet is great. I saw his DVD on cancer and immediately wanted to support him. I’ve gotten calls and emails from people who want a copy for themselves, so I’m very happy to have that available for you. The China Study books are also in stock and are a must-read in my opinion…

PACIFICA PERFUME, CANDLES AND LOTIONS ARE HERE!!! I’m sooooo excited for these. They smell great and the lotions are beautifully emolient. WiseWays Herbal products are also in stock! Sea Chi skin care products are here and are as gorgeous as ever!! And more new items are coming… Books and audio books by Dr. Joel Furhman as well as heavy duty 9-tray dehydrators in white. Please contact me if you are interested in getting any of these items. With everything we sell, items can be picked up or I can mail them to you.

ALSO IN STOCK: Health Force Nutritionals, bulk nut butters, Artisana butters, Fruits of the Earth superfood powder, Maca Force Vanilla Spice,  really raw oats, raw nori sheets, chia seeds, turkish mulberries, dandy blend, wasabi powder, kelp noodles, dandelion leek miso by south river, garlic red pepper miso by south river, Eating for Beauty by David Wolfe, Naked Chocolate by David Wolfe and Shazzie, Sun Warrior Biofermented Rice Protein powder (in natural and chocolate flavors),  marine phytoplankton, lucuma powder, yacon slices, really raw cashews, artisana coconut butter, tibetan goji berries and Vitamix pitcher replacements. If you have an old vitamix blender, you might want to consider a new plastic pitcher to replace the one that was made with bpa plastic - it also comes with a new lid that stays on so your hand doesn’t have to rest on top when you blend.

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FUN THINGS TO READ

• What are pea shoots? (They’re in my recipe below) Well Mister Peter Burke can tell you about soil sprouting and how to grow them yourself! He’s the man! http://www.thedailygardener.com/snow-pea/

• Matt has been updating the website: http://vt-fiddle.com/shop/index.php?main_page=products_new - althought this is tax week so bear with us… I updated the how-to use our nut milk bags pages:

http://www.vt-fiddle.com/rawfood/how_to_make_nut_milk.php - how to make nut milk

http://www.vt-fiddle.com/rawfood/how_to_make_nut_milk.php#nut-mash - nut mash recipes

http://www.vt-fiddle.com/rawfood/how_to_make_juice_with_nut_milk_bag.php - how to juice

http://www.vt-fiddle.com/rawfood/difference_between_nylon_hemp_bags.php - pros/cons of using hemp vs nylon filtering bags

http://www.vt-fiddle.com/rawfood/care_use_of_nut_milk_juicing_bag.php - care and use instructions

The recipe page is up but doesn’t yet look pretty so you’ll just get a teaser on that one! :-p Also the sprout page will be updated SOON, when I come back from my little vacation…

• Please check out our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Worcester-VT/Vermont-Fiddle-Heads/63781489465?ref=nf -  Become a fan and check out photos, events and notes. MM-kay? Also, check out the blog. It’s pretty again! http://vt-fiddle.com/blog/

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AND NOW FOR THAT RECIPE
So yesterday, I got a facebook message that someone wanted a heavy duty green smoothie. She wanted greens because I think she waas feeling under the weather. So this is what I made her (and Matt and myself.)

So Green it’s Black Smoothie

• 1 huge bunch pea shoots (check out link above to grow your own)
• 2 bananas - very ripe
• 3 shots wheat grass juice
• 2 small pears
• 1 rounded cup red raspberries

• 1 rounded tsp VitaMineral Green (tons of greens, minerals, enzymes, probiotics)

• 1 rounded tsp Spirulina (she said she wanted protein)

•  filtered water

•  1 tsp agave (optional)

In the VitaMix, place ingredients in the pitcher (you may have to pack the greens down) and fill with enough filtered water to fill to the 6 or 7 cup line. Blend for about 30 seconds or until everything looks to be very well blended. This will fill up almost the whole pitcher. Pour into your favorite glasses and enjoy! The red raspberries and the green greens make the smoothie turn very very dark in color. So it’s not the prettiest smoothie ever but it’s hella delicious and nutritious!

TIP: Chew your drink and drink your food! Remember that digestion starts in the mouth and even though you are drinking, practice “chewing” your smoothie. Enjoy!

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Have a great week and Please contact me for information or other raw goodies (both bulk and prepared.)

in joy and in health,

Linda

Vermont Fiddle Heads

http://www.vt-fiddle.com
P.S. Keep checking back on the shop. Adding products as we speak! http://vt-fiddle.com/shop/

P.P.S. Need some bulk food items? Or great reading/educational material? Hella awesome skincare products? We’ve got: Healing Cancer from the Inside Out DVD, Pacifica Perfume, Candles and Lotions, WiseWays Herbals, Sea Chi skincare, The China Study book, Joel Fuhrman books and audio, heavy duty dehydrators, new products by Health Force Nutritionals, really raw oats, raw nori sheets, chia seeds, turkish mulberries, dandy blend (a dandelion coffee substitute), wasabi powder, kelp noodles, dandelion leek miso by south river, garlic red pepper miso by south river, Eating for Beauty by David Wolfe, Naked Chocolate by David Wolfe and Shazzie, Sun Warrior Biofermented Rice Protein powder (in natural and chocolate flavors),  marine phytoplankton, lucuma powder, yacon slices, really raw cashews, artisana coconut butter and goji berries. Please contact me if you are interested in getting any of these items. With everything we sell, items can be picked up or I can mail them to you.

Greetings good people!

Happy March! I don’t know what March is like for you but it’s the most intense month here in VT. Usually by March, people are pretty antsy for the snow and cold to end. We get more bright sunny days which further make us wait with anticipation warmer temperatures. And then things turn to mud so we’ll get mud season soon and then it will be black fly time, etc. VTers are cute to have celebrations for such things. The seasons are serious business here!

Today I’m working on sorting out the archived recipes so be on the look out to more easily look up the recipes on my site. We are also adding more products as well. Please be sure to check the new products page regularly as we are trying like the dickens to get things up: http://vt-fiddle.com/shop/index.php?main_page=products_new - (As per usual, I have way more products in house than what is listed on the website. We are working to make the two more synchronous.)

We also made deliveries to Hunger Mountain and Sweet Clover TODAY so please get your raw treats while the gettin is good! I’ll be making a delivery to Healthy Living on Monday.

Please check out our Facebook page! Become a fan and check out photos, events and notes. MM-kay?

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