by Joanne Newell
For a little while now, I’ve been dabbling with the idea of holding raw food classes.
The idea of being able to help those who’ve had their conscious sparked, who know there must be a better way to live, who want a big improvement in their health, and who want inspiration for phenomenal living… the very thought of being able to do this for others is so exciting. How fulfilling to be able to serve in such a direct way!
Earlier this year, the universe popped just such an opportunity into my lap, with my aunt feeling drawn to introducing me to a local personal trainer/motivational speaker called Andrew Jobling. Andrew often joins up with others to create life-transforming workshops, and he asked me whether I’d like to introduce people to raw food by creating an event with him.
So I said yes! We’ve set a date for Saturday, November 28th, and in the class Andrew will be revealing strategies for making long-term, effective change (I’ve been to one of his classes before – he’s really good!), while I introduce the concept of living foods, explain my raw-food journey, answer any questions thrown my way, and demonstrate how to whip up a few scrumptious raw delights (with samples, of course!).
If you live in Victoria, Australia, and would love to come, here’s a link to the flyer: A Fresh Taste For Life!
Or perhaps you know someone who might be interested? Feel free to pass the link along to them – this class might be just what they’re looking for.
I had a little “taste” of raw-food teaching in person this week, when I did a green smoothie demo for my children’s class at school. Bella and Evie have been asking me to do this for months, but I wasn’t sure whether the teacher would be OK with it, whether it would be covered under the curriculum. But she said that it followed “procedural” learning, with kids following steps in a recipe, so she was more than happy for me to come in.
The kids all know me anyway, because I help out with reading and writing every Wednesday morning, but they were pretty excited (and curious) to see me setting up the blender, popping on an apron, and getting out fruits and greens. I explained to them about green smoothies, and then they excitedly read out the ingredients, equipment, and steps for the recipe on the interactive whiteboard while I carried out the steps. Most kids at least tried the smoothie (bless ’em – I think the green color scared a couple of kids), and most came back for seconds, thirds and fourths!
Even the teacher admitted that she’d been a bit skeptical about greens working in a smoothie, but she is absolutely in love with the recipe I’d created for the class – in fact, that recipe worked so well that I’ve decided that I’ll demonstrate it in the raw-food class on November 28th. If you want the recipe, you’ll just have to come, won’t you?! (Tease? Moi?)
I created a little handout for the kids to take home, with green smoothie basics and ingredient suggestions, a copy of the recipe I’d created for the class, and a copy of the “Alien Slime Smoothie” recipe from my recently released Monkey Mike’s Raw Food Kitchen: An Un-Cookbook for Kids! (If you haven’t heard of Mike and want to know more – head here!).
My girls had asked whether I could give a copy of the Monkey Mike book to the class, and when I suggested this to the teacher, she said that it would be great to have it in the school library, so that all of the children in the school can read it – what a fantastic idea! So I’m going to print out a copy, pop it in a binder, and donate it to the school library.
I love being able to make a difference to lives on a global level – through this blog and through the Monkey Mike recipe book – but I also love helping my local community. If the idea of doing that calls to you, maybe you could think of ways to help your community – maybe an elderly neighbor is suffering with a degenerative illness and has shown that she’s open to trying new healing modalities? Maybe she’d be interested in a green smoothie demo in her kitchen? Or what about holding raw-food classes for curious friends, in your own home?
You just never know how someone’s life can be changed, when they’re ready for that change.
If you’re able to come to my class in Melbourne, then I can’t wait to meet you!
Till next week
Love Raw Mom Jo
