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.
Rory, I loved your book and I can’t wait to learn a little more about you! Briefly tell us about your raw journey, who inspired you, and about how raw you are.
The Universe was behind me every step of the way. Probably days after having the idea to write Skinny Bitch, I had dinner with some old friends who I hadn’t seen or spoken to in years. I told them I wanted to write a book and they told me they had just gotten a publishing deal and that I should try submitting a proposal to their literary agent. The book, Writer’s Market, was invaluable in teaching me what to submit to the agent and how to do it. Once I got representation, the literary agent handled everything from there.
Last post I told you we had already begun our March Break cleanse. I left off telling you for some added motivation I was heading to the big city to take in the sites while we all continued our intention to do a cleanse. My reasoning is that even though we eat a very high-raw regime while at home, because the kids are in school and socializing with friends and attending birthday parties, etc., it isn’t always as ideal as I would like. 
I like to occasionally do little water or green juice fasts and in the Spring and Autumn longer ones, but with children, that isn’t really necessary or practical. So instead, what we do is have days where I only serve fresh fruit, green juices, green smoothies, and big salads. This way, the kids aren’t really hungry, and they are getting great nutrition, plus, a little rest from the nuts and mixed combinations of usual raw gourmet fare like raw burgers or nori rolls, etc.
We all wished we had ordered about double that amount of food as everything tasted sooooooo good! But actually, by the time we were finished, we were full and satisfied. We had an Art Gala of 300 International artists to attend at 6, so off we went very happy indeed! We must have all been radiating a lot of joy, because when we attended the gala which was PACKED with people, just as we were standing in one of the lines to pay, my husband was tapped on the shoulder and a gentleman handed him FREE TICKETS for our whole family! We couldn’t believe our good fortune! I looked around in the crowd and found this man walking with a woman, and realised she was the lady I had assisted in the parking lot several minutes before…it was all so sweet! I even bumped into several people I hadn’t seen in ages, and a client who had attended 2 of my raw recipe workshops with her husband.
The next day we visited a Raw Market Fair at super Sprouts and saw our dear friend Wayne Gendel from 
People often comment to me that I have very good looking children, and my reply is something to the effect that we always try to eat healthy. I usually get a puzzled look. What is the connection? That is the problem. Our health is in a great part, a function of what we do, and what we put into ourselves. In addition, our health is not some dark secret deep in the hidden recesses away from sight. It is reflected in the brightness of our eyes, the color of our cheeks, the softness of our skin, the readiness of our smile, and so many other things we see every day we look in the mirror. Some say we shouldn’t focus on beauty, and I agree. It is not the do all and end all by any means, but it is an indicator. If we see dark circles under our eyes, it is a sign that we have something to discover about ourselves, and to work on. We must learn to make the connection between what we put in and what we get out.
What works best for me is to have a lot of fresh produce on the counter. Today, I have baskets with avocados, lemons, and sweet potatoes, onions and garlic, and fresh ginger, and organic apples. In jars of water are standing bunches of kale, parsley, and cilantro. On a shelf above, are clear canisters of nuts and seeds, and there is another row of seaweeds and herbs. Everything is in sight. In the icebox, are carrots, a box of spring mix, collards, brussel sprouts, broccoli, and celery. I often have a pot of lentils and one of cooked quinoa or something similar available, and we each assemble our own dishes according to what is most appealing to us that day. I think that is very important. Each person has his own needs, and appetite. If we have a variety of healthy foods available, it works to start with the most appealing food, and eat that until something else presents itself as more appealing.
The greatest evil that can befall man is that he should come to think ill of himself. GOETHE
On and on it went. I was my own worst enemy. I doubt any raw guru or coach out there would have been so hard on me. I was so determined to ‘change’. I practically threw my entire life into a tizzy over food. It wasn’t good enough that I change- I needed my entire family to change too!
She is a shero! Her family are role models. I have learned so much from them as we all have. And I bless her everyday and have a heart filled with gratitude for this path and all the learning I have been so blessed to experience.
I hope all the support and tools and tips and recipes and interviews and information that you find here is helpful! That is my sincerest wish for everyone who stops by. And also, that you would be loving and compassionate with yourselves, your family and your progress. Food isn’t an enemy. It’s a mirror. We need to love our own unique reflection. And allow ourselves the space to grow at our own pace. It will happen. It is happening.
This week, I want to introduce you to someone special. For about the last three years I’ve been following the blog of a lovely English girl called Alison, an exquisitely blessed writer who is skilled at creating utter gorgeousness in her life. She’s a mum, a daughter, a sister, a friend, and a thoroughly authentic person who isn’t afraid to show that she’s human.
It won’t do, you know? None or even one of the above cast of bad behavior will do. For every box we tick, a little bit of our creative soul floats away, because it cannot assert itself in the constant noise - because it knows, but somehow cannot get you to listen, that the dusting will still be there after you have done that tiny little bit of sewing, or writing, or cooking, or whatever it is that is calling your name - because you are not the resident taxi-driver - because you can use your time however you wish and that more than that, even in the hullabalub of family life, you have the right to privacy. To draw, to dream or to chronicle the inner workings of your mind. You have that right, just as you have the right to create a space on the household bookshelves to hold those books drawing you a map to who you want to be.
Lest you become as a little child…
I believe kids are just NATURALLY connected to the Source, to the power grid of Life.
About 10 years ago a friend had the pleasure of hearing a talk by Randy Ward and she was so fired up and shared some of the things she learned from him. He said many profound things and he said what he learned came not from books or adults, but from observing children. He said children don’t start out in this world with fear- that we teach them that. “don’t climb the tree or you will fall” “don’t cross the street or you will get hit by a car” etc etc etc.
A great teacher once said “Ask, and you shall receive”…we have FREE WILL so our rights and desires aren’t intruded upon. Realising this, I finally got over my phobia of driving and now drive with effortlessness and calm confidence. I now ask for and claim Divine protection in and around my car as soon as I put the key in the ignition, and in 11 years have never had an incident, and I know I never will. My children hear me say ‘white light’ which is my shorthand for asking for and invoking that safety. We can focus on what we fear and therefore attract it, or we can focus on what we want and therefore attract that! WORRY, DOUBT, GUILT AND FEAR ARE A PRAYER FOR WHAT YOU DON’T WANT! The Universe literally rearranges itself to accommodate what you focus on!
See Moms, you gorgeous group of gals, we are blessed beyond belief with these precious young souls in our home. We can learn more from them than any seminar, book or retreat if only we could get out of our heads and stop thinking they are the only ones that need to learn stuff here. Just learning stuff isn’t necessarily going to impact anyone in a fundamental way unless it can affect a shift in their being. Of course we have more experience which can serve our children, but they have youthful reminders of a fresh perspective and a heart/spirit-centered orientation to life which we can learn from. The power is not in our head, it’s in our being. You can teach what you know, but you duplicate who you BE. Who you ARE speaks louder than anything you will ever say.
“We aren’t here to see through each other, but to see each other through” Anon
Life is just a reflection of our thoughts. We always seem to think things come from outside of ourselves, but actually it’s the opposite- ‘as the roots, so the fruits’. Take abundance. People want abundance and imagine that it comes from the outer realms- money, success, health, material wealth, etc. Abundance isn’t something that comes to you- abundance is something that comes from you. Its all there, inside. 
But what is always important to understand is anything we could want is within us already. And anything we want is ours to have, no judgement, and when we know we actually are already whatever what we want represents to us, that is when it just comes straight to us without any effort at all. Like a magnet, we attract exactly what we are. So come on my lovelies, stop pinching off the flow of life by contracting-up your marvellous self in petty judgements of yourself or others, and DARE TO DREAM! To DESIRE! To truly LIVE!
OOOOOOOh my little Chikas, snuggle in for a juicy one today! If you’re anything like me you looooove to share a good thing; well I’m sharing! Ya’ll know by now the Cancer scare my husband and I are currently facing…and btw, for the record, we are no longer referring to it like that, but rather as can-sir! Because YES SIR, HE CAN! And Luke has come up with something even more powerful- he refers to it as c-ancer…get it? ‘See answer‘. That epiphany came from within. All answers do. Meditate on that one a while…
Well, I see can-sir like that. I don’t give it a capitol letter because I really don’t give it much prominence at all. It is an alarm clock letting us know its time to shift some things. This is NOT to make light of anyone’s situation! We have all known and loved people who have suffered the ravages of this dis-ease as it progressed. My heart goes out to anyone, anywhere who is scared, in pain, suffering for ANY reason. But this is just how ME AND MY MAN chooses to cope. We are needing to pull out all the treasures from this journey that we possibly can!
Anne Wigmore taught us that the body is a SELF-HEALING organism…all we need to do is ‘get out of our own way’ and stop interfering. My hubba bub is really confronting all the ways he has been in his own way. It’s incredible to watch him awakening to himself. Like most of you, we have had crazy periods of stress and stuff; and we are truly experiencing a shift in our perceptions and realising so much how we have allowed life to feel overwhelming. From having stayed home to be there for our kids we have made tremendous sacrifices. We have never actually been able to afford it- but we did what we believe is priority. The financial burden has been off the charts- which of course leads to emotional melt-downs and physical short-circuiting. In short- STRESS!!!
