If you caught the inspired article Brigitte wrote for us several posts back, you will already know what an incredible woman she truly is.  She is a wealth of great, useable information, and she really does walk her talk.  Her daughter is RAINBEAU MARS who many of you have heard of.  Rainbeau is a raw yogini, and a mom herself!  I would love to have her featured sometime for you here on rawmom, but for now, some beautiful pictures of her will just have to do!  In the meantime, enjoy these beautiful words and delcious recipes from the generous spirit which is Brigitte Mars…

Please tell us about your first experience of hearing about Raw, and who inspired you?  How raw did you go?  How raw are you currently, and how do you maintain it?

In the mid 1970’s, I tried being raw. But back then, the only organic produce available was carrots and apples and most natural food stores didn’t carry produce at all. When I would talk about raw, no one had ever heard of anyone doing it here. “After all”, everyone said, “It’s too cold in Colorado. You need to eat cooked food in a cold climate.” I studied Macrobiotics, Herbal Medicine, Oriental Medicine, Vitamin Therapy, Flower Essences, and Homeopathy. Eventually, I began to teach classes on Natural Medicine institutions such as the Rocky Mountain Center for Botanical Studies, Naropa University and the Boulder College of Massage.  I became the herbalist for one of the nation’s largest natural food stores, and  for thirteen years and promoted multitudes of remedies, potions, pills and tinctures. I have had a private practice and written scores of magazine articles and several books.

I had always considered our family following a healthy vegetarian lifestyle. Though, pretty much all food was cooked, except for the occasional salad and piece of fruit. Organic produce became more available. As the years went by, my lovely children became complicated teens. I surrended to serving whole wheat bagels,  pasta dishes, veggie burgers, homecooked vegetarian chili and other things I was glad they would eat. “At least it’s organic!” I would say to myself.

When Sunflower and Rainbeau were teenagers, they admitted to me that they were sometimes eating meat at their friend’s houses. I wasn’t pleased, but appreciated their honesty and decided that it would be better if I prepared an organic chicken once a week than them eating commercial God knows what God knows where.  This was after my  having been vegetarian for twenty three years. I actually felt better consuming some animal protein and this continued for several years, till I became raw.

Middle aged. I found myself making cakes (with unrefined sugar) once a week, organic chocolate chip cookies, meat, and  quick cooking rice. Always, we included some wild greens and felt healthy about that. However the truth was, I still struggled with acne and was getting heavier and middle-aged pudgy, despite skipping dinners,  and drinking “natural diet shakes”. My bikini days were definitely over.

My husband, Tom Pfeiffer, frequently had digestive problems that caused him sleepless nights and if ginger, umeboshi plum paste or peppermint capsules didn’t help, would resort to over the counter preparations. I had become an expert on remedies, but had not yet figured out why the problems occurred.

In 1996, Rainbeau got her first movie role in, The People vs Larry Flynt.  She flew to Memphis and immediately found herself having a great time with Woody Harrelson and his brother, Brett, both of whom were into raw foods, yoga and healing the environment. Rainbeau dropped out of college and soon moved to Hollywood, like many young hopefuls to pursue  dreams of fame and fortune.

Rainbeau and I first saw Juliano in Santa Monica Wild Oats. He gave her a flyer for a raw potluck. Soon,  Rainbeau called us  in Colorado to say, “I’ve gone raw! Juliano is my new housemate. He has written a book called Raw and says, “Get your mom down here. She’ll get raw.” “Not very likely, ” I thought. “I know too much.” I had studied way too long and knew all about “cold, damp spleen,” “excess yin” and how eating tropical fruits can make one “ungrounded and spaced out.”  My big concern was that Rainbeau was getting into anorexia, like the models and actresses one reads about.

Tom and I had a trip to LA planned, to attend Natural Products Expo, the major convention for the natural foods industry. We hoped to talk some sense into her.

Our first night in LA, Juliano was hosting one of his huge raw dinners.  My husband, Tom was apprehensive on how his stomach would handle such fare. We paid a donation and  were  served a delicious raw vegetarian meatloaf with cauliflower mashed potatoes. We drank coconut water. It was all amazingly delicious. There we met David Wolfe, author of The Sunfood Diet and Success System, at the dinner. We had to admit, Rainbeau looked healthier and more beautiful than ever. We weren’t worried, just grateful for Juliano.

The next day, Rainbeau and I left for Anaheim to attend the convention, while Tom had business to attend to in LA. I gave an herb walk  at a botanical garden, and spent time at the allGoode Organic booth, who are the fine people that bought UniTea Herbs, the company Tom and I had started more than sixteen years ago.

Rather than walking through the convention and tasting every free sample of  tofu hot-dog, organic chocolate bars and frozen vegan pizza, I noticed that very little of the “health food” was raw. No wonder we needed to devote one third of the show to vitamins and herbal remedies. “Natural foods” might be good, but they had not brought us perfect health! Macaroni and cheese in a box, though wholewheat and organic, was still processed food.

Friday night, Rainbeau and I were invited to a small party sponsored by  HempNut. ^TM I had recently written The HempNut Health and Cookbook with Richard Rose. A wonderful young man was playing guitar. We liked what he was singing about. It all rang true. His name was Jeremy Safron. He had been raw for eight years. I bought two copies of his book, The Raw Truth for Rainbeau and myself.

Tom and I returned to Boulder. I decided that I would be raw for a year to support my Rainbeau. Surprisingly, Tom loved the food and would sit down to meals saying, “You’re saving me.” His digestion had so much improved. I went through a bit of a detox. My skin broke out worse than it had in years, then got better than ever.

We sponsored David Wolfe to teach a one day workshop in our courtyard. We were amazed how the workshop filled with barely any effort. It was also delightful that making lunch for sixty five people was so easy, when I remembered the stress and toil of a cooked dinner party for ten! A few months into being raw, I really prayed about whether this was the right path for me. My answer was, “Think of The Doctrine of Signatures.” The Doctrine of Signatures is an ancient philosophy that shows how plants speak to us by the way they look, grow, smell and taste.  (For example kidney beans strengthen the kidneys, cauliflower the brain, etc.) It was so simple!  Did I want to feel baked, fried and toasted? Or did I want to feel fresh, alive and vital. The Urantia Book says that Adam and Eve (not the first humans -that’s another story) were raw foodists.

“While cooking was universally employed outside the immediate Adamic sector of Eden, there was no cooking in Adam’s household. They found their foods-fruits, nuts and cereals-ready prepared and ripened.”  The Urantia Book.

Tom and I both attended a workshop given by Viktoria and Igor Boutenko, authors of The Raw Family. Igor gave us the most powerful massages. We could feel such amazing movement of energy. We were blessed to have the Boutenkos stay at out house during their workshop. No spaced out deficiency there!

My teaching of herbal medicine has changed. I wanted to talk about raw foods. I still love herbs and have found many of my herbal allies make great salad additions and fresh green juices.

Two years have passed. When I went to Anaheim’s Natural Product’s Expo this year, my friends wanted to know, “What have you been doing? You look younger! More slender! Your skin is great!”

It amazes me how something so simple, time saving, and money conserving  isn’t what everyone is doing. Now a trip to the grocery store yields four bags of groceries for $100 rather than one or two bags. We feel great. Sign me up. I’m sticking with the program. Every day I wake up feeling blessed to be raw and wonder why it took so long to find it again. I’m glad I studied so many other things. My horizons have been expanded all around the globe, studying the medicine of a multitude of cultures that are not all that healthy. Such a beautiful simple truth, to return to raw.

Can you please offer us a few of your fave recipes?

SUNFLOWER PÂTÉ
1 1/2 cups raw sunflower seeds, soaked overnight, then allowed to sprout for 3 hours
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup tamari or 1 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon sliced fresh ginger
Run the above ingredients through a food processor. Serve on sandwiches or on salad. Add some chopped celery for a tuna-salad substitute. Excellent on sandwiches or to top a salad.

FLAX CRACKERS
I once threw a soggy flax cracker out in the yard, and it grew in to hundreds of flax plants. Now that’s live food!
2 cups flax seeds
4 cups water
1/4 cup dried kelp
Soak the seeds in the water 15 minutes. Stir in the dried kelp. Spread the mixture onto three solid dehydrator sheets. Dehydrate for 4 hours. Remove the dehydrator sheets and turn over the crackers. Continue dehydrating until they are crisp (about 4 to 6 hours). When dry, the crackers will keep indefinitely.
Makes 2-3 trays of crackers.
Variations on Flax Crackers
Any of the following can be substituted for kelp in Flax Crackers:
Sliced bananas
Sliced apples
Raisins
Cinnamon
Celtic salt
Chopped tomatoes
Corn cut from the cob
Chopped red peppers
Chopped onions
Chili powder
Basil
Chives
Cilantro
Garlic

DRIED FRUIT JAM
Jam on sprouted crackers with almond butter, anyone?
1/2 cup raisins, soaked overnight
1/2 cup dried figs, soaked overnight
1/2 cup dried apricots, soaked overnight
Remove the fruit from the soaking water and place in a blender; reserve the soaking water. Add a bit of the water, pulse until well mixed, and keep adding water until the mixture achieves a jamlike consistency. Store in the refrigerator, where the jam will keep for about 2 weeks.
Makes about 3 cups.

APRICOT PUDDING
Nothing is easier. Try garnishing the dish with pine nuts.
1 cup dried apricots, soaked 4 hours in 1 cup water
Place the apricots in a food processor and puree. Serve in cups.
Makes 2 servings.

BUTTERSCOTCH PUDDING
The ultimate comfort food can be extraordinary.
1 cup dried apricots, soaked overnight in water (reserve water)
2 bananas, peeled
8 dates, soaked 20 minutes
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup raw almond butter (available at natural foods stores)
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and puree.
Makes 4 servings.

CAROB PUDDING
1/2-cup raw almonds soaked overnight. Rinse in the morning.
2 ripe bananas
1/2-cup water
2 tablespoons carob powder
1/2 cup pitted dates
Blend all ingredients together in a blender or food processor till smooth. Garnish with a mint leaf or strawberry slice.

HEALTHY FUDGE
1 cup tahini or almond butter
1/2 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons chocolate powder
1 tablespoon fresh chopped mint leaves
!/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
Mix all the ingredients together and roll into balls. Roll in sesame seeds or coconut and chill. Coconut can be colored red by mixing with a bit of beet juice.

STUFFED DATES
Stuff pitted dates with raw almond butter or tahini. Makes a great substitute for chocolate!

Any Raw Beauty Secrets?

Check out my book Beauty by Nature.

What is your sleep schedule?

Midnight till 7

About how much water do you drink daily?

More than a quart.

What do you eat on a typical day?

Fruit, one salad daily, and some raw gourmet dish.  Today I am making an asparagus quiche to perfect a recipe for Get Fresh magazine!

How late in the evening do you feel okay eating?

I try not to eat after 6.

Who do you most admire, or who are you inspired most by in the raw food movement today?

David Wolfe for his energy, Chad Sarno for his great food, Cheri Soria for all her contributions.

Would you like to share your spiritual practice with us?

I have been reading the Urantia Book for over 30 years. It is considered The Fifth Epochal Revelation, is said to be written by celestial beings. It talks about life after death, life on other worlds, evolution, Adam and Eve, The Lucifer Rebellian, Melchizedek, Jesus, as well as the history of most of the world religions. Urantia is the name of our planet.

Any new projects?

Please check out my You Tube: Seven Minutes to Raw, and my website is www.brigittemars.com.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 at 10:40 pm by Lisa and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.