As always your taste buds can be tuned to the beautiful BayFM on a Monday morning where we serve up an hour of mouthwatering radio. Sister Rasela cooking up a storm for you today in the Belly kitchen and springing into action with talk of how this beautiful season allows us to connect with nature, our bodies and our taste buds.

SPRING… It’s a new beginning – the time of the year to rise early with the sun. You can’t help but notice plant life pushing upwards after winter slumber, just like many of us who feel the colour come back to our cheeks, having been hidden during these past cooler months.

Have you noticed the green colour of tender young shoots, the sight of which nourishes the soul through the eyes. The appetite for food decreases as the body naturally cleanses itself, not only of food residues but also of excessive desire and the accompanying emotions of dissatisfaction, impatience and anger.

The metaphorical membrane over the eyes and mind disappears and vision becomes clearer. Things are seen in new ways.This is a time for contacting your true nature and giving attention to self awareness and self expression.

Living in sync with nature is an incredible experience. When you buy local, seasonal, organic produce from farmers, growers and shops within your community, there is an energy which is quite pure and carried through all the stages of your foods life and into your life. You’ll know more what i mean if you grow and eat your own produce already.

Think about what you want to put in your mouth to nourish not only your body but your soul. It is not just a solid mass that lands in your stomach (well, sometimes it is) processed beyond all recognition and sealed in a plastic bag and ‘preserved’ (although goodness only knows what they are trying to ‘preserve’ as there is no goodness in it!)

Food that is natural, whole, fresh and seasonal is what you should be aiming for, then you may be able to experience the oneness with nature, the  s i m p l i c i t y.

Don’t deny yourself ‘treats’ just think about what a ‘treat’ is. Are you really ‘treating’ your body when you put something into it that is a chemical concoction of synthetic flavour and colour…. i mean, why would you bother?

So… back to SPRING FOODS

This is the season to attend to the liver and gall bladder.

In spring we naturally eat less to cleanse the body of the fats and the heavy foods of winter. The diet should be the lightest of the year and should contain foods that emphasize the ascending and expansive qualities of spring (like a bloom about to blossom).

Young plants, fresh greens, sprouts and wheat or cereal grasses are ideal. Salty foods such as soy sauce, tamari, miso and sodium rich meats all have a strong component of sinking energy and are best limited during springtime.

The expansive rising quality of sweet and pungent flavoured food is recommended as a means of creating a ‘personal spring within’. You could use a little concentrated sweetener with pungent herbs such as honey and mint tea.

The pungent cooking herbs : Basil, fennel, marjoram, rosemary, caraway, dill and bay leaf are all quite desirable at this time.

Most of the complex carbohydrates such as grains, legumes (beans) and seeds have a primarily sweet flavour which increases with sprouting.

Young beets, carrots and other sweet, starchy veges such as sweet potatoes are good too.

Try to get out of  the ‘habit’ of having the same thing for the same meal everyday. Our bodies change daily, monthly, seasonally, like the weather so we require different foods to maintain overall good health at different times in our lives and most certainly on different days..

RENEWAL AND RAW FOOD

Food preparation becomes simpler in spring and let’s face it, who doesn’t want more simplicity in life?

Raw and sprouted foods can be emphasized more… now I’m not suggesting that you give up eating what you are currently eating to live off a couple of lettuce leaves and a bag of sprouts (although that may well suit some people), it’s just a great time to add these to your diet if you haven’t already and maybe replace one winter vegetable with something more fresh and alive. Gradually adapt, like the changing of the leaves on a tree… slowly, slowly but surely.

Sprouts and raw foods are cleansing and cooling.

Spring represents youth and raw foods are thought to bring about renewal by reminding the body of the earlier more youthful states of human development. A time before the use of fire when man was extremely active, physically generating abundant heat; so early people found balance in the cooling effects of raw foods.

All the stages of our evolution are still encoded within us; going back through the layers of our evolution to more primal biological states is necessary if renewal is to be complete.

Raw food consumption should increase with signs of heat in the individual. If you are frail and cold then take it easy and don’t go too hardcore on the raw food, please!

It is both better and easier in warmer climates and during times of great physical activity although most people do well eating at least a little raw food in their diet each day, with greater amounts in the spring and summer.

Remember there are always limitations. Uncooked foods can weaken digestion in some people and even sometimes trigger excessive cleansing reactions. Not recommended for people with bowel inflammation or for people who are frail with signs of weakness. (Although you would have to try it yourself and see what suits you as an individual)

Intuitive eating… is listening to your body and is far easier to do when you are not changing your thoughts and emotions with chemicals and stimulants. Get real and discover life!

SPRING COOKING

If you live somewhere that is cold, it’s pretty much a necessity to cook your food. Winter time also calls for the need for warmth within.

In spring, food is best cooked for a shorter time but at higher temperatures. In this way food is not as thoroughly cooked – especially the inner part, retaining vital nutrients.

If oil is used (coconut is recommended as it can reach high temperatures without destroying it’s goodness), make sure it’s quick and at a high temperature – sautee method is good.

When cooking with water, light steaming or minimal simmering is ideal

When making Raw Chocolate it is always essential to ensure that the bowl and fingers are well licked and none is left to waste…. which brings me to our next topic for today and that is talking to the lovely Robin Jackson about Raw Chocolate, Cacao vs Cocoa and what happens in a raw chocolate preparation class… amongst other things.

RAW CHOCOLATE = RAW ECSTASY

Chocolate has been enjoyed for thousands of years as a way of connecting to the divine Love of the Universe. No food symbolizes Love more than chocolate.

We would like to reveal the ancient mystery the has been uncovered… here on the Belly Show, lerned after years of searching…..

….. the secret ingredient in EVERY recipe is L O V E!

Now we’re talking Raw Chocolate here and into the studio enters Robin Jackson, a woman full of Love for many things but today we are focussing on Raw ‘Chocolate’ – RAW cacaoa (ka-cow) and the inevitable temptations accompanying this superfood.

CACAO vs COCOA

A slight change in the lettering represents a major difference. Cocoa (co-co) powder has been treated with alkaline salts, is mixed with a number of chemicals during processing and has powdered milk added to it which blocks the bodies absorption of the healing nutrients of RAW cacao.

Knowing the nutritional benefits of RAW cacao helps to act as an important reminder that when we eat food in it’s natural state, we are able to harness the magic of the food, it’s healing powers, it’s full life force and health benefits.

Raw cacao contains Magnesium, Chromium, Antioxidants, Vitamins B1, B2, B5, B6, C, and E which are all present in significant quantities. It also contains fiber, iron, niacin, phosphorus, as well as containing ‘happy brain chemicals’ such as Theobromine, Phenylethylamine, Anandamide an Tryptophan the details of which are lengthy and interesting and can be googled at you own leisure. All you have to know is that it makes you feel GOOD.

The importance of RAW cacao in chocolate is emphasized in the fact that it remains caffeine free due to the natural state it remains in, unlike other chocolate where the theobromine is converted into caffeine when heated. This makes RAW cacao and raw chocolate a natural stimulant that is caffeine and comedown free 🙂

It is crucial that you think about where your chocolate comes from. 80% of cacao used by large companies in your average everyday chocolate bar is made with cacao that comes from West Africa, where horrible working conditions, including child slavery, degrade humanity on a daily basis (not to mention the pesticides!) So next time you reach for a mars bar or a packet of those chocolate biscuits you love so much, think about what it took to make. Some poor child’s life is hardly worth living just so you can get fat on a chocolate bar you don’t need anyway. Please, enjoy the good things in life, but not at the expense of others. Make your own or buy fair-trade, organic, RAW chocolate and be happy to eat it, guilt free in every way!

I was fascinated to hear Robin talk about the different forms Raw cacao comes in. It can be found in Beans/Nibs/Powder and Butter. Until today i thought each one was created for it’s own individual purpose but i learned that it starts as the bean, is blasted into the nibs, ground into powder and finally extracted into butter. Each form is just a step along the way and each form can also be tranformed into the most incredible chocolate delights you will ever have. Part of the enjoyment is knowing that this is GOOD for you!

Robin was lovely enough to offer a free place in her next Raw chocolate creation class which will be held on Sunday 26th September. If you wish to find out more info about anything to do with raw food, you can contact Robin from the info below. There is also a monthly newsletter that is released in conjunction with Raw Ecstasy so if you would like to be on the mailing list for that feel free to mention that in your email. Alternatively you can find the stand at the farmers markets on Thurs Byron, Fri Mullumbimby, Sat Bangalow and all of the Sunday/Weekend markets dotted around this wonderful Shire of ours.

Robin Jackson – robin.rawecstasy@gmail.com

Phone – 0449 133 418

See you at the markets!

P.S. This show featured the Album ‘Jiggy Jiggy’ by Shoebox… “it don’t take much to make me HAPPY” … lalalala 🙂