Class Timetable for Term Two, 2014

Class Time Table Term Two 2014

We’re doing a little juggling next term as we will be transitioning into the new kitchen (yay!) but at this stage the classes will all be held at St Andrews Hall, Cnr Sydney Pde and Sydney Rd, Geelong, go around the side to where you see the Yoga sign.

As soon as I can confirm the new space is ready we’ll switch over, meanwhile, the room we have at St Andrews is fabulous!

This term we’ll be offering the Introduction Class and also Winter Warmers which will give you some great ideas for staying warm but keeping up your raw!

Winter Warmers - $100

Saturday May 10^th –10am-2pm

Saturday June 14^th – 10am-2pm

Eating Raw food and staying warm are not mutually exclusive! In this class we’ll be looking at comfort foods and can promise you, we will satisfy every tastebud and craving you might have in the cooler months! Think casseroles, Mac ‘n Cheese, Soups, Apple Crumble, something devilishly chocolate and you’ll get an idea what’s on the table!

Introduction to Raw Foods -$80

Thursday May  22^nd 6.30- 9.00 approx

Saturday June 7^th – 10am-12.30 approx

Thursday June 12^th – 6.30-9.00 approx

This class covers everything you need to know to get started on Raw. We'll be doing juices, smoothies, spaghetti, bread, cheesecake and much more! 

Please email info@rawambition.com.au please note we do need a deposit or full payment to confirm the place.

We look forward to seeing you soon! J

Our favourite Superfoods!

Now first of all, you don't NEEEED Superfoods, but I absolutely love them because they are a nutrient rich way to add a bit more zing to your diet. Why waste a mouthful on empty, non nourishing calories when you can super charge yourself! Try one or two in your smoothie and see if you feel the difference! Here's a little more about our favourites: 

Superfood	Benefits
Acai	A small purple berry from the Amazon, Acai is one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet. Its extremely high concentration of antioxidants helps combat premature aging as well as monounsaturated (healthy) fats, dietary fibre and phytosterols to help promote cardiovascular and digestive health. You can only buy this in freeze dried powder form as the berries themselves must be processed within 24 hours to preserve their nutrients.
AFA	Blue Green Algae (Aphanizomenon flos-aquae) is one of natures nutritional powerhouses. It contains every vitamin, minerals and amino acid the body needs, is the highest source of plant protein (58%) and a great source of DHA essential for brain development. AFA really aids mental clarity and physical stamina.
Cacao	The cacao bean is rich in magnesium, a mineral that is vital for nerve and muscle function.  It is also a good source of sulfur, which helps with strong nails, shiny hair, a healthy liver and pancreas. Cacao contains anandamide, a substance that induces euphoria. It also contains phenylethylamine (PEA), a mood enhancer. Whilst PEA occurs naturally in the brain, the only other food that contains PEA is blue-green algae.
Camu Camu	The fruit of the Camu Camu tree contains powerful phytochemicals including the amino acids serine, valine, and leucine, and more Vitamin C than any other known plant in the world. The dehydrated camu camu fruit powder contains 8 - 9% Vitamin C, which is 30 to 60 times more Vitamin C than an orange!
Goji Berries	Goji berries are known for their healing properties. These berries are rich in antioxidants and amino acids, but their real gold lies in their more than 20 vitamins and minerals. These tasty berries have been used for centuries in Asian cultures to strengthen eyesight, fight against viruses, balance hormones, and promote longevity.  We love Goji in everything, try them soaked in warm water and added to a smoothie or use in a fruit slice, they are perfect with chocolate!
Lucuma	With a superb sweet caramel flavour, this nutritionally-dense superfood is chock full of antioxidants, fibre, vitamins including niacin (B3) and minerals especially zinc, calcium and iron.It is perfect added to desserts and slices!
Maca	Maca powder comes from the root of the plant and is full of vitamins, minerals, potassium and plant sterols. It is great for balancing hormones, delivering energy and stamina. It has a butterscotch/caramel note and we love it in many of our sweet treats!
Spirulina	An oldie but a goodie, Spirulina is still ahead of the pack when it comes to protein. It is an excellent source of beta carotene and a wide range of minerals including Iron, Potassium, Magnesium Sodium, Phosphorus and Calcium. As well as boosting the immune system,  Spirulina has a host of benefits including improved digestion, reduced fatigue, increased endurance, appetite control, contributes to healthy cardiovascular function and it’s a great detoxifier!
Tumeric	Tumeric contains curcumin which is rich in antioxidants: it’s pretty clever too as it not only neutralises free radicals itself, it also helps kick start your body’s own defence systems.  it’s also great for reducing inflammation especially when it relates to disease. Curcumin boosts levels of the brain hormone BDNF, which increases the growth of new neurons and fights various degenerative processes in the brain.Curcumin extracts have been shown to reduce cancer cells, especially cancers relating to the digestive system.

The Thing About Green Smoothies

There have been a few articles around the health traps lately about how The Green Smoothie might not be so good for you, there are references to TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) which suggests they can be dampening on the system and Ayurveda which says it is not good for certain dosha types. Everyone is different, so you may be perfectly fine chugging back the green goodness every day, and carry on if you are, but if you think that it isn't quite working for your constitution then read on!

I know it makes it really confusing when you’ve been told that The Green Smoothie is the hottest thing in health and everyone should be doing it, only to be told, well maybe it’s not so great after all. The last thing I'd want is for that to put you off and back onto less healthy options to start your day!  Having adapted and adjusted my smoothie routine over 20 years, I’d like to give you my take on this from a more practical perspective.

Let me explain what happens when you drink one.

First and foremost , fruit is really designed to be eaten on it’s own. Blending it with green plants which are high in cellulose and slower to digest means the fruit will sit around in your stomach fermenting rather than in your guts, helping feed the good bugs down there and releasing all their valuable nutrients. It’s also the best way for the simple sugars in fruits to be absorbed.  Indigestion is often caused by the inclusion of fruit with a meal. It means you’ll get an uncomfortably full feeling for some hours, and whilst some people think this would be a benefit, it’s really not, you need the fruit out of the stomach, it’s designed to be a ‘quick exit’ food, meaning it leaves the stomach and does it’s work in the gut and then leaves, so don’t hold it up is the rule. Blending breaks down the cellulose in greens to a point (especially if you have a high speed blender)  but it still takes a bit longer than the fruit to digest.

Secondly, assuming you have the requisite blend of frozen berries, bananas and some green leaves, depending on your constitution you’re taking in a very cold meal first thing in the day, which can be quite taxing on the digestive system as you’re needing a fair bit of energy to warm that up.

I thaw anything I plan on using the night before and I will add a little warm water as well, I drink my smoothie at room temperature or just a little cooler and I add warming things like turmeric and ginger to the juice I use as a base (more on that shortly!).

Wait, I hear you say, what about the greens then?

Juice them!!! Green juice is the most potent superfood combo imaginable!  I would juice the equivalent of two large salad bowls of greens in one go. I would never sit down and eat that and I would struggle all day to digest it if I did. We want the concentrated goodness out of the greens but all that cellulose is going to tax our tummies. By juicing, we release all the precious chlorophyll and other goodness that is really going to nourish our blood, alkalanise our bodies and enrich us with loads of concentrated vitamins and minerals. Chlorophyll has an identical chemical make up to human blood, it just has magnesium in the centre instead of iron, so it’s just brilliantly assimilated the minute we drink it, through the porous mucosal tissue in our mouths and then through every cell in our bodies as we gulp it down. Because it’s liquid it gets straight to work, no fibre holding it up. Work your tastebuds up to having no fruit at all in your juice, start with an apple and reduce it down. Add a squeeze of lemon at the very end after you’ve removed all the pulp (if you plan to put it in your compost or feed the chooks, you don’t want citrus in your pulp) Lemon juice helps you absorb all the nutrients.

Don’t have a juicer? Don't stress! Check out my easy peasy juicing method with a blender and juicing bag on this post here: http://rawambitiongoddess.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/0-0-1-517-2953-noodle-creative.html 

Hang on, did you just make fibre sound bad?

Fibre is great and you  should still eat salads , but here, I’m talking about getting a  large amount of nutrition into your system really fast, more than you could comfortably eat. I promise you, if you give yourself a green juice first thing each day, you will be bouncing off the walls with energy!

Can I add green juice to my smoothie if I don’t like the taste?

Yes! because you’ve removed the cellulose, you won’t slow down the fruit’s digestion, so you can still have a ‘green’ smoothie by using the green juice as your liquid and adding in your room temperature fruit. Also great to add in some Udo’s oil or Hemp oil, a little fat helps you absorb some of the fat soluble nutrients.  Blend away!

What else can I add?

Whatever feels right for your body! So if you want to use a raw protein powder or some super foods like spirulina, go right ahead, just vary to dosage according to what feels good. 

***A little note: EVERYONE is different, I know people who can take it icy cold and have no issues, who blend anything and everything and rock on, these notes are to help explain how certain foods work, some people with more sensitive constitutions will really benefit from evaluating what they're doing, don't just blithely follow the leader if you don't feel fantastic! 

Coffee - Do You REALLY need it?

For most people, coffee is a ritual, a chance to ease into the day with a hot cuppa right? Wait, I’m having a vision of someone frantically racing around getting themselves ready for work and grabbing a quick sip as they run out the door, or collecting one as they get off the train and enter the hustle and bustle of the working day. OK, so the weekend coffee, perusing the paper may be the relaxating ritual I’m thinking of!

Many people say they can’t start the day sans caffeine, I’d argue that there’s a certain comfort in an old habit and perhaps, if you delve a little deeper into how that morning brew affects your day, you might be given to reconsidering:

1.  You might have heard this before (probably from me!) that you want to alkalinise your body as much as possible, sure, your body does a pretty good job to regulate pH, but your diet certainly affects it. Coffee is VERY acidic. First thing in the morning when you really want to be alkalising is probably THE worst time to be chugging back the brown stuff. Oh, and Decaffeinated Coffee is just as bad as and even more acidic than regular coffee.
2.  The high does not last. MANY people who say they can’t start the day without a coffee have woken up with low energy , in need of an instant pick-me-up . The trouble with pick-me-ups is that pretty soon, they drop you down again. You’re living on borrowed energy that you’ll probably need to pay back later…with more coffee.
3.  Depleting vitamins and minerals. The acidity of coffee can take calcium from our vital stores and it can also seriously reduce iron absorption. Then there’s depletion of B vitamins which are kind of useful for managing our energy levels.
4.    What happens to your brain when you drink coffee? You release stress hormones like epinephrine, cortisol, norepinephrine and glucocorticoids. These make you feel ‘wired’ and this might feel great initially but later you’re prone to experience tension and anxiety. You can see why coffee is not good for Type A personalities who fire their adrenals a little much already! (yes, I am a type A!)
5.   Caffeine is strongly linked to depression. Your brain doesn’t produce enough happy chemicals because you’re killing neurotransmitters. Depression sufferers often lack the ‘feel good’ hormone serotonin. Guess what? Caffeine is suppresses serotonin,
6.  Coffee is the most heavily sprayed food crop on the planet, I kid you not! There is no other plant that has a higher toxicity of pesticides than coffee. Studies have shown over a thousand chemicals in coffee – and crop workers are getting pretty sick of it, literally.

 So ok, I’m the harbinger of doom and gloom and have crapped all over your morning routine, but let’s look at some options if you’re keen to try reducing your reliance on the brown goo:

 If it’s the ritual you need:

Try Teecino http://www.teeccino.com.au I’ve had good feedback on this product, Dandelion Tea is also great if you like a good strong brew, if you’d like to try easing back on the caffeine and taking it in a healthier form, try Green Tea or even a cup of regular tea will reduce your intake subantially. Try a Chai Latte or a hot chocolate if it’s the creamy, filling aspect you crave.

If it’s a long term energy improvement and the ability to get out of the house pumped and ready for the WHOLE day, then try really alklanising your body first thing with a glass of warm water and lemon followed by a green juice.

Then here’s the piece de resistance, I promise you if you start the day with this baby (after your juice) you will have energy to burn, and burn, and burn.

The secret ingredient? Raw Cacao. Many people mistakenly think chocolate contains caffeine. It actually contains Theobromine, which has a similar chemical structure but is metabolised differently and provides a milder, longer lasting energy boost. It’s still not a great thing to have too much of, but if you’re trying to ease yourself off caffeine, it’s a good alternative.  It also contains Phenethylamine (PEA) which is usually missing in roasted cocoa beans as it’s heat sensitive, PEA is a chemical produced by the adrenals when we fall in love or feel deeply moved by something, (I feel deeply moved by chocolate!) it’s also very important in increasing alertness.

Cacao is bursting with antioxidants and minerals, many of which are again destroyed when the beans are roasted, hence you should only ever use RAW CACAO products. So, give this baby a whirl while you try and climb down the coffee dependence ladder, even if you don’t consider yourself dependent, try stopping for a week and see how you feel, you might be surprised how much it affects you without realising.

Cacao Coffee Kicker Smoothie

2 Cups Almond Milk

2 super ripe bananas

2 tablespoons Raw Cacao powder (reducing over a week or two)

¼ tsp Vanilla Powder

1 tablespoon Maca Powder*

2 tablespoons LSA powder

*Maca powder comes from the root of the plant and is full of vitamins, minerals, potassium and plant sterols. It is great for balancing hormones, delivering energy and stamina.