The Art of Intuitive Eating
Our lives,
so seemingly small,
ripple out
to the whole universe
as tiny whispers
like the sounds
of butterfly wings,
and the clear voice
of the living truth.
-J.L.D.
The Healing Feast

We often ask, how can we change the world? It has come to me that we are the world, and that whatever we do, however great or small, affects the whole planet. Our thoughts, actions, and emotions help change, make, or break, this beautiful gift of life. And in transforming ourselves, the world within and around us changes, simply because we are a part of the whole.

A friend told me that when she was helping a woman learn more about raw food the woman asked, What do I have to give up? My friend said, Nothing... just add new things into your diet. This struck me as the most perfect advice for wanting to change any part of our lives—just add in new things and let the old parts fall away as a natural expression of growth and renewal.

Here's a no-cook recipe for soup, heated enough to warm the body, but not too much to loose precious enzymes. By not cooking, it will save electricity or gas, and this small act will make a change. (Read more about the powerful effects of small acts following the recipe.)

Warming Tomato/Carrot Soup: Serves 2
Total preparation time, 10 minutes
Tomato Soup
Ingredients: serves 2

1 1/2 cups filtered water
1 cup fresh tomatoes, loosely chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes
1/4 cup celery
2 tablespoons sweet onion, loosely chopped
2 tablespoons green onion, loosely chopped
1 tablespoon Spectrum walnut oil,
  (or favorite oil)
1 clove garlic, peeled
1/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon fennel powder
1/4 teaspoon fenugreek powder
dash of cayenne
Garnishes to Complete the Soup
Miso* - add a small spoonful to each bowl and stir.
1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons green onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 tablespoons finely chopped red bell pepper
*Our favorite miso is South River Azuki (soy free)
Directions
Put sundried tomatoes into a dry blender.
Blend until tomatoes are broken up into tiny pieces.
(Or, soak for 1-2 hours before blending - use soak water.)
Add water, and continue to blend for about 30 seconds.
Add tomatoes, carrots, celery, sweet yellow onion, green onion, oil, garlic, salt, coriander, cumin, black pepper, and cayenne and blend until as smooth as possible.
Tip: If you have some chia seeds, 2 tablespoons, finely ground, will make the texture of the soup more "velvety".

To Warm: Pour soup into a pot and place over medium flame. Using a cooking thermometer, stir the soup, warm to 115 degrees, and ladle into bowls. Or, use the "finger test". As soon as the soup begins to feel hot to your finger, immediately remove from heat. Tip: If the bowls are preheated, the soup stays warm longer.

Finish the Soup with Garnishes: Sprinkle the chopped tomatoes, bell pepper, pine nuts, and green onions over the warmed soup. Serve with a green salad, or Sunflower Seed Cheese.


A Little Story: We Are the World—How We Effect Change
We were stunned to read on a box of recycled tissue paper we'd purchased, that if each family in the county were to buy just one box of their tissue in a year, it would save 582,000 trees, 1,500,000 cubic feet of landfill space (equal to 2,200 garbage trucks), 210 million gallons of water (a year's supply for 1,600 families of four), and it would avoid 35,000 pounds of chlorinated pollution! Imagine... 582,000 desperately needed environmental life forms—trees—still living, just by buying recycled tissue paper!

This same idea holds true for our bodies: how can we improve our health? For us it starts with having an inner knowingness about what we want to become. Maybe it's as simple as drinking more water, learning to love sprouts, or to breathe consciously. Maybe it's smiling at a stranger, or being grateful that we have clothing, beds, homes, and families. Or maybe it's removing the word "hate" from our vocabulary, healing an inner battle, and coming into a state of forgiveness and deep peace.

Take for example this website: Seven years ago we got interested in the healing power of raw food, and it blossomed to the point where we wanted to share our stories and experiences. Like a ripple effect, our new life is going out and touching a larger life—you, our dear friends and readers. More ripples and sparks of creative energy will come through this interaction as you claim and manifest your personal forms of expression and dreams—because as a whole, we're infinitely connected. This amazes us!

Think about it... the power of choice is deep, and it echoes everywhere... just one box of tissue... recreating ourselves day by day through loving intention... taking action... and in doing so, changing the world!
Dream of Freedom “Hurry home to your heart,
hurry home to your voice,
There are times for inner changes,
be ready for the choice.

Hurry home said my love,
hurry home to the stars,
Start a new generation
with the freedom that's ours.”

Jon Anderson, lyrics from Change We Must










The Healing Feast is about:
healthful practices,
following our intuition,
& eating life-giving foods.

It's about:
transformation, joy,
inspiration, peace, gratitude,
and soulful beauty.

It's about:
living a life filled
with abundance and love,
& giving what is the best
within ourselves to the world.
New Beginning

New Day
by Janet L. Doane

This day
our fields have been readied.

It is a day
for planting new seeds,
a day to harvest
what has been growing.

It is a day
to surrender our doubts
and to celebrate together
this revelation of creation.

It is a day to be filled
with the brilliance
of clear intention,
a day where Soul's gifts
spill out to meet the world.

It is a day
to appreciate these
spiritual gifts
as we are lifted
to levels of new awareness.

And it is
in this moment
that new days begin,

in love, in truth,
in the grace of Life's giving.