Thursday 29 September 2016

Just Great Balls


Balls of Chocolate



So these ones do not actually have any chocolate or cacao in them...BUT they are SO damn good that they should.
In fact I think today I will make a cacao version of them.

But for now here are my non-chocolate as good as chocolate BALLZ....

*Equal parts of Sunflower seeds, sesame seeds & raisins ( Sultanas is you are an Australian !! )
You can dry roast the sun flower & sesame seeds to add some extra special-Ness.
*A hand full of pepita ( pumpkin ) seeds, chia and hemp seeds combined
*and some melted cacao butter.. you know a small chunk..depending on the amount of dry ingredients.

Blend all together in a bullet type machine.. !!!


 

and Roll.
O-M-G-oodness .....just greatness.
No Sugar, No honey, No oil …. just plain fabulous-ness !!

**You could add goji berries or Inca berries too..mmmhhhh yes you could.
 **In fact you could do anything you damn well wanted to do !!

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Liquid Sunshine Tumeric Tea


Tumeric tea 
so... as it was included in a fasting blog and a little tricky to find..here is my recipe for sunshine tea again for all you fabulous people xx
 
to beat the blues into mellow yellow

First go dig up some tumeric root.
If you don't live in the jungle or grow your own then grab a hand full of tumeric root and a BIG chunk of Ginger root.
Peel and simmer in a pot with about 4 cups of water.
Simmer with some black pepper corns, cardamon seeds and cinnamon bark.


 

Simmer for 10 to 15 min.
Blend all together ( yes your blender will turn yellow and stain..but hay... it is a funky colour ! ).
Strain to remove pulp.
Blend again with a few table spoons of coconut oil and some honey to taste.

 

Yumbo

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Saturday 24 September 2016

The Art Of Ritual


Rituals
 

Rituals have played an important role for centuries.
Namely religious and spiritual based the act of performing rituals is something that we as humans have been doing since the beginning of time.
( I am sure I was there, but I just don't remember the details at the moment )

Our rituals become our habits. But in place of habits, rituals are moments we create to create our moments of prayer, gratitude and manifestation.
Rituals can also play a huge role in grounding ourselves into our day, at the end of a day and at the beginning of a coming together.
Rituals also play a role in creating a sense of safety and protection and a way to quell nerves before an event. Like going to a job interview, entering your house at the end of the day after a long day away, before a competitive event or when your child comes home from school.


In the late 1940s, anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski lived among the inhabitants of islands in the South Pacific Ocean. When residents went fishing in the turbulent, shark-infested waters beyond the coral reef, they performed specific rituals to invoke magical powers for their safety and protection. When they fished in the calm waters of a lagoon, they treated the fishing trip as an ordinary event and did not perform any rituals. Malinowski suggested that people are more likely to turn to rituals when they face situations where the outcome is important and uncertain and beyond their control – as when sharks are present.


My rituals are a long way from shark infested waters.
But my favourite ones do include water.


On rising in the morning I religiously drink warm water with the juice of a lemon and a decent splash of cayenne pepper, to waken up my sleepy digestion.
I then do a combination of dry skin brushing, face washing with aloe vera and egg white and I say hello to my beautiful self.
In fact before I even get our of bed I smile to myself and whisper “Thank you Thank You Thank You” in immense gratitude to spirit as I hear the sounds of the jungle waking up around me.


After my self care I like to do some yoga and a few of the 5 Tibetans.


One ritual that my son and I make sure we do every morning is our Morning hug.
This entails us laying down on the bed or on huge cushions as we laugh, tickle and re tell our dreams from the night before.
This is one of my favourite ways to connect with my son.


After all of this my all time rock on ritual is self pleasure .
 

And to self pleasure by the river on a rock in the jungle is the best way for me.
I go down to the water hole on the property with my coconut oil and a rug and find my favourite rock to lie on.
And I walk through the jungle bare footed.
Skin on the earth is the surest way to connect to your
Wild Womban.

 

What ever it is that I am wanting to call in I think about and imagine having it in my life now.
With Morpho butterflies and hummingbirds flying all around I bring myself to delicious orgasm shooting my energy up to the universal cup of dreams and manifestations.
After this with the hugest smile on my face and warm fuzzies running through my belly I swim and exercise under the water fall in the water hole.
Pura Vida in deed. 
Pure life at its best.


Happy Ritual making.


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Have a glorious day
Melissa in the Jungle of Costa Rica

Monday 19 September 2016

The Long Neck Women


The Long Neck Women.
 

Today I started writing the chapter in my book of my adventures in Thailand.

This particular adventure involves a girlfriend and I ( whom is just as badd ass as I am. We are from the same breeding ground you see. Small country town Australia ) hitching our way through parts of Thailand, meeting a Burmese man that was hiding from the Thai government and sneaking into the refugee camp that he had called home so he could see some of his family.

 

My friend and I were housed behind the tourist gates of the compound where the Dragon women and their families are held. Incorrectly referred to as the "long-neck" women, girls can be as young as five-years-old when they begin to be fitted with brass rings around their necks. To be chosen for this life ritual is a divine sign from birth with many layers involved.
Longer rings are added as they grow older, in effect deforming the chest and shoulders to give the illusion that their necks are abnormally long. 


 

With refugee camp # 3 just meters away behind the water well, many tourists do not realize that these women with their necks ringed in brass are actually Burmese , not from Thai hill tribes.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s due to conflict with the military regime in Myanmar, many Kayan tribes fled to the Thai border area.[
Not unlike a "human zoo," this northern Thailand’s Padaung Karen hill tribe village is amongst the country’s most controversial tourist attractions. My friend and I spent our days there taking tourists aside and telling them what was really going on and even showed a few of them the huge refugee camp just a few steps away.



 

When we spoke to those we stayed with many women talked with pride of their choice to wear the rings out of a genuine desire to carry on with the tradition. Yet for some of these villages have no access to electricity, roads, healthcare and schools. 

To get there we had to hide in safe houses at night and crawl our way through rice paddies to be met with open arms by a family living in a house made of card board boxes.

Making our way past the well we were then welcomed by our Burmese friends extended family where we stayed for three nights whilst he gathered more stories for the book he was publishing.

 

I have moved onto many other adventures, my girlfriend has been further a filed, had many babies and returned back to Australia, whilst our Burmese friend and off the beaten track tour guide has published his book “From The Land of Green Ghosts”, all those that welcomed me into their homes and hearts are still living in their state of no mans land with each day the same as the last.

Please. If you are in Thailand and you know others that are thinking of going to visit these people, know that the money you pay to get in does not reach the people that are on “show”. Go in, take good food and pay them directly.

Then protest that it should be happening at all.

I am a mama of a wild 10 yr old boy living in the jungle of Costa Rica.

A wild life Living in the Jungle 
Instagram..JungleLoveWild

Friday 2 September 2016

Food Foraging. Super Food Greens.


Food foraging.
3 super food greens 
 

Here in the Jungle of Costa Rica where I live with my 10yr old son we often go out amoungst the plants and collect what we eat. Barefooted and often in the rain we collect greens and roots to eat.

Below are 3 super food greens that are growing around our wooden house.


The Mayan Chaya
 


Chaya, commonly known as “tree spinach”, it could be one of the most important edible-leaved plants in the tropics. Requiring little maintenance it is an excellent source of vitamins, fiber, proteins and enzymes. The levels of Chaya leaf nutrients are two to threefold greater than most edible leafy green vegetables. Chaya is significantly more nutritious than spinach, amaranth and Chinese cabbage:
Here in Costa Rica most locals only know it as an ornamental or living fence-line calling it “chicasquil” which is kind of unfortunate as it is and incredible nutritious food left un touched. Except by us. We love the stuff.
But be aware... Do Not Eat It Raw !! toxic as hell really when not cooked. Chaya leaves and shoots contain toxic hydrocyanic glycosides. So you need to cook it for at least five minutes to rid the stems and leaves of the poisonous cyanide components, before adding it to your stir fry. We also use the leaves to roll up rice and other grains a lot like sushi. Tico style.



Next we have Katuk.
 
Also a dangerous leaf if eaten raw too long. As you can see it IS dangerous out here in the Jungle !!
Best to boil first if eating over many months to eliminate anti-protozoa properties.
We have been using it in our smoothies..woops. But up until now we have not noticed any of the side effects such as difficulty in sleeping or lung disorders such as bronchiolitis.



Aside of the danger eating it raw Katuk contains 59 cal energy, 6.4 g protein, 1.0 g fat, 9.9 g carbohydrate, 1.5 g fiber, 1.7 g ash, 233 mg calcium, 98 mg phosphorus , 3.5 mg iron, 10020 mcg carotene, 164 mg vitamin A, B, and C, and 81 g of water. WOAH !! All of this is in 100g of the leaves. Majorely katuk helps feeding mothers to bring in and increase their breast milk.
Other benefits of the leaf used externally include in the aid of ulcers and sores, Constipation or other difficult bowel issues and some skin diseases.

And now for the humble Spinach.
 
Introducing Chenopodium album also known as lambs quarters, or pigweed.
A very common garden weeds, Wild Spinach is edible and delicious. With a deeper & more robust flavor than spinach without that squeaky teeth feeling.
Rich in magnesium and potassium, more fiber, beta carotene (pro-vitamin A), vitamin C, riboflavin, calcium, zinc, copper and manganese than domestic spinach.

Why Food Forage??

    It is free, you get to gather nutrient dense food that is tasty, food miles are non existence enabling your ego and feel good neurons to ping, you get to eat healthy organic food for free and you get to meet neighbours. 
    Here in the jungle they would include monkeys, toucans, snakes and butterflies.

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    Have a GLORIOUS day.