Hi from Cal.

[veganbabe]

Hi,
I am Jodie LeeAnn and I live in Southern Orange County California right now but am moving to Washington in a few months.
My hubby and I went vegan just over 11 years ago.We thought it was the right choice for us since our family's health history was so bad.It has been a lot of fun so far but I suffer from agoraphobia,anxiety and panic and have been through years of counseling that helped me out some.As a Vegan Baker & Chef I was eating a lot of sugar and breads so I felt maybe raw may be a better choice for me since my butt was starting to look like it was going to sweep the floor soon & my hubby looks 9 months pregnant.
After eating raw food prepared by Chef Ito at Au Lac for years now on and off and talking to my friend Jeff Rogers(The Naughty Vegan author of Vice Cream)I jumped on the idea and went raw 2 days ago.I have bought raw food books but they just got dusty so Alissa Cohen's name came up and I went to Robin Jone's Living Temple and got her book & dvd, the rest is history.I do not have a dehydrator yet so I am using my oven.I already feel my anxiety level going down, what a blessing!.

[LILLARI]

Hi Cal! :) is it ok to use the oven? Good luck to you on your raw journey

[meganthevegan]

Welcome Jodie. I also live in the oc but will be moving out to Colorado in 6 weeks. I've got to check out the living temple, where is that?

[veganbabe]

Hi,
The Living Temple is in Huntington Beach in the Old World Village.
Wow I made the ravioli and it was so good but it had way to much garlic for me.Then I made squash pasta and sauce and that was yummy.With the extra ravioli stuffing I made stuffed mushrooms.I Made the almost tuna and it was to salty so I know now to play with the recipes a bit.My flax crackers are ok but need more flavor.The next thing I have to go in the oven is corn tortillas.
Wow I am doing so much.Soaking almonds for some milk.
If anyone has any suggestions for me please let me know.
Thanks for the welcomes
Jodie LeeAnn

[stephbkr]

You should definately check out the cd's on innertalk.com for your agorophobia. Heard about them from Shazzie's website, she grew her breasts from listening to the cd's so I'm sure you'd benefit from the cd's for anxiety, etc. I'm getting the Joy of Exercise and Releasing Anger, looking forward to recieving them and experiencing great results. They are used in some Utah prisons to help with inmate behaviors and professional athletes have used them to improve performance. They are powerful and use music or nature sounds to bypass the right brain and positive messages are repeated by a man's, woman's and child's voice (the mind associates with at least one of those voices) and begins to replace distructive mental patterns and thoughts with productive ones. I personally haven't experienced it, yet, but have a friend who loves them.

And on the oven question, while you're saving up for a dehydrator (like me!), you can set your oven on the lowest setting and leave the door cracked to dehydrate food.

PEACE, S

[veganbabe]

I never thought to keep the oven door open.I see now(after you said that) how the air needs to move around.
My crackers are not the best so I will make half recipes until they taste better.I like flavor.
Those tapes your talking about sound interesting.Thanks I will check the site out for sure.
OH I did make some yummy green lettuce wraps with guacamole,squash,sprouts,seeds and walnuts.

[PeatrixPotter]

Welcome to the site! I am glad you have finally jumped in after dabbling with the idea for awhile. It's one of those things where you think, "why did I wait so long!"

Good Luck!

Peatrix :) ;)

[RawTruth]

Hi Jodie -- Did you go to the Raw Festival at The Living Temple last weekend? If I hadn't been in Laguna Beach all weekend, I'd have been there. Robin is great; I'm so glad you found him. That's also where I purchased Alissa's book and DVD quite a while back. Megan, you can privately email me and I'll give you the directions; it's not far from Good Mood Food Cafe, and I know you know how to get there!

Congratulations on beginning your raw journey, Jodie.

Next time you're heading up to Au Lac, drop me a line and I'll be sure to say hi. I'm usually there several times a week, and I'd love to meet you in person.

I hope this board will help you through your first 30 days (you're doing the 30-day challenge?) like it did me -- welcome again.

[swiddweas]

Hi!

Your avatar is so cute. It looks like my sister Spicey who was a Welsh Corgi.