Go Raw Chicago

Sorry I’ve been M.I.A. as of late, there is just SO much new stuff happening.  I keep making notes on my “Blog” word doc on what to talk about next, and it’s to the point where I have enough to write a 10-page post!  Instead, I think I’ll post some short tidbits on all these new things.  Hope you this newsletter-like post!

-I’ve been jogging around my neighborhood a lot more lately.  Chicago is definitely getting “greener” and greener.”  Especially in Bucktown and Wickerpark–there are more and more eco-boutiques and vegetarian and organic places popping up all over.  Most noteworthy is the organic juice and smoothie bar, Doc’s (which I’ve mentioned before).  When I walked in to say hi to the owner the other day, I saw that he was now selling 100% organic juices and will be rolling out green smoothies (with some help from little ole me) very soon!  The prices are so reasonable too!  AND you don’t have to get carrot juice in it if you don’t want to :)  I had a celery-cucumber juice and it was amazing!

-Another place of note is The Green Grocer that just opened on 1402 W. Grand Ave.  Todd and I went and checked it out on Saturday to meet the owners and thank them for opening up more organic-purchasing opportunities for them.  They are really wonderful people.  The Chicago Conscious Choice ran an article about them and that’s how I found out.  I just love helping to spread the word about businesses like this though.  They have a great little website in the works that even has a coupon on it.  Please check them out if you’re in the neighborhood.  They have some fresh organic and local produce there too.  I bought some organic ginger there (which Wholefoods surprisingly doesn’t even have). 

-I’ve updated some pages on my website quite a bit.  They are the Great Links, How to Makeover Your Kitchen, How to make your own Super-smoothies, Super-juices, and Super-soups, Raw Friendly Places to Eat In Chicago, and How to shop for raw foods if you’re in Chicago pages. Please check them out!

-In the spirit of Earth Day, last weekend my girlfriends and I got together at my place and had a Girls Night In/Score Your Friends’ Clothes Party!  We all brought trashbags of clothes we no longer wanted or were going to wear and just had a ball going through each other’s things.  I think we were all amazed at how many clothes we went home with.  I must have scored at least 30 new items, not including some brand new makeup a girlfriend no longer wanted.  There were about 8 trashbags full of clothes leftover which no one wanted so I’ll be calling the VVA soon to come pick the stuff up BUT I want to do this again!!  This was just such a great idea and SO much better than getting ripped off by going to a Buffalo Exchange or similar clothing store. I should host a Young and Raw clothing exchange meetup.  Hmmmm…..   ;)  

-I’ve been getting into a few new things practices lately:  EFT and Muscle Testing.  I think I’ve watched about 30 YouTube videos on these two things alone in the past week!  Wow.  There is just so much out there (on YouTube), it’s just ridiculous.  I don’t think I’ve blogged about this yet (I probably need to), but when I had the Young and Raw meetup featuring a naturopath guest speaker at my apartment the other week, there was a huge interest in her muscle testing (a.k.a. kinesiology) abilities.  What an invaluable skill to have!  We can waste $100s of dollars a year on supplements that really aren’t doing anything for us or may even be HARMING us.  I’ve talked to my bf about this, and from now on, he’ll be muscle testing me (if he’s with me) before I buy any new supplements at the store in the future.  Here are the best YouTube videos I’ve found on muscle testing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t1qaEAYu1w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vZyWouhNpc

- EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique).  A lot of you have probably heard about this in the past.  I’ve heard about it a couple of times a year now for about five years.  It’s never really caught on with me until now though.  I’ve been using it on all sorts of things (mainly while I’m in the car driving to or from work, before I’m about to eat a meal, and before I go to sleep at night) and it’s really been working wonders.  If you haven’t heard about this before or would like to learn more, here are some great YouTube videos I’ve found on this (they can explain it much better than I could here):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQp0kA5a5OI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyU08zK8mzs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKMFPFB1Ng8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1mqUPm7L5A

-A money-saving tip for Chicagoans:  The cheapest place I’ve now found to buy coconuts in Chicago is Chicago Food Corporation (there’s as big sign that says JOONGBOO market that you’ll see from the 90/94).   The address is 3333 North Kimball Ave.  I went there last night to buy some coconuts (in dire need for some more coconut kefir) and realized that I was only paying 39 cents per pound for them.  They came out to less than $1 each.  I was paying $1.50 for them at the Chinese market in uptown Chicago!  No durian at this place though :(   Darn!

-Here’s a really cool news clip taken at Karyn’s Fresh Corner the other week if you haven’t seen it yet.  I hope to be looking at feeling that young at 61!!

-The Raw Spirit Fest:  Yes, it’s still about 5 months away but this is really getting me excited!!  My friend Anthony, from RawModel.com, just registered to host a workshop there (I’ll be assisting him) and I’ll be working with the We Like It Raw team to get the Give It To Me Raw members together at some point in the weekend for a some sort of awesome shindig!  If you haven’t bought your ticket yet, it’s definitely not too late.  But it IS getting a little late if you haven’t make hotel accommodations yet so I suggest you start looking around or talking to others going.  Just a little favor to ask you:  if/when you do buy your tickets, if you could buy them using this link,that would be the best ever! Thank you so much

-Ask and it is given–It’s SO true!  I’ve been wanting to leave my corporate job for a long time now and my wish has finally been answered.  I’ll be leaving with a severance package in July!!!  I’m SO excited to pursue what I want to do and am so good at doing, full time now.  This is the best situation ever.  I’ve just been walking on air the last two weeks.  So many opportunities are opening up in front of me right now and I’m just scribbling down my ideas as soon as they come.  The BIG idea is still on the way though….

Hope you enjoyed the randomness of this post as well as the MANY, MANY links.  Hope this keeps you busy for a while!.  Love you guys!

~Lenette

<—platter from the recent Chicago raw food potluck. 

Coming back to my Go Raw Chicago theme now: Many of you Chicagoans may very well be going to these places already, but if not, I’ve recently discovered and visited a few more places to report to you.  Check them out sometime if you’re in the area and soak up the healthy you can!  

New Leaf Natural Grocer 1261 W. Loyola Ave (Edgewater or Evanston) 

This place has a ton of raw grocery and superfood items as well as a small produce section (GREAT prices on burdock root here!).  They also have a nice bulk section.   Bonus: You can get a weekly box of organic seasonal fruits and veggies from $15-33/week, depending on the box size.  I was there when they were assembling the boxes and the produce looked great!

True Nature Health Foods 6034 N. Broadway St. (Edgewater) 

This place was pretty neat.   They have a juice bar and a non-raw soup and sandwich delis.  Juice prices are pretty reasonable.  I like their dry grocery and supplement selection.  They also had a small produce selection but the prices were sky high and the avocados were about 5 days past ripe.  Bonus: this place is also home to Edgewater’s recycling center, and they have a co-op program with Kings Hill Farm that you could join for a weekly or yearly fee.

Doc’s Juice and Smoothies 2246 W Armitage Ave (Bucktown)

This place isn’t raw or vegan, but it is a 100% organic smoothie bar.  They’re smoothies use a bit of juice but you can customize it and just ask for ½ an apple or 1 peeled orange instead.  The owner is really nice and gave me tons of great advice smoothie-bar- visionary to smoothie-bar-visionary.  Let’s support this guy!  He’s definitely got the right idea.  He’s got great reviews online too.

The Balanced Kitchen 6263 N. McCormick Blvd (North Chicago)

I haven’t actually been to this one yet but have been hearing more and more about it every week.  It’s an organic, gluten-free, vegan, eco-friendly, local, and seasonal restaurant that just started doing some raw foods.  They’re hosting a raw food brunch in two weekends actually.  Call for more details if you’re interested or would like to RSVP.  I think it may be a pretty pricy place because I heard the brunch costs $35 and Karyn’s Fresh Corner only costs $25.  (I know–only, right?)

Another juicy tidbit:

I was flipping through the Trader Joe’s fearless flyer and see that they are now carrying organic agave nectar for a pretty awesome deal (I’ll need to check out the label to see if it’s raw with no other ingredients added in).  They are also selling some sort of 2-week whole body cleansing kit for 14.99 or something.  Everyone wants a share of the detox-conscious consumer market.  I’m pretty skeptical of TJ supplements but would like to go and check out the ingredients and protocol just out of curiosity.

I still haven’t ventured around in south Chicago much.  But that’s definitely on my to-do list with all of the market research I’m currently doing.

Have a great weekend!

~Lenette

<—Coconut/Durian soup from Naked Chocolate book with vitamineral greens and cacao added in

I typically don’t do surveys for the fun of it.  In fact, I usually make fun of people who who are always answering those ridiculous 75-question surveys on MySpace.   But I thought this one would be a good opportunity for you to get to know me and for me to pass some new ideas and information on.  I think it’s going around on the raw food blogs, funny enough.  I saw it first on http://buellerskitchen.com.  Here it goes…

1. Favorite home-made nut (non-dairy) milk?
The Chocolate Mylk Kick stuff from David Wolfe’s Naked Chocolate book: almond/Brazil nut milk (I like to add Brazil nuts into all my nut milks for the selenium), cacao powder, maca, tocos, agave, hemp oil, and flax oil all blended together. 

2. What are the top 3 dishes/recipes you are planning to make?
Hmmm…taking a look at my menu board right now… A falafel recipe I saw on some website (I need to figure this out real soon), blueberry-mango cookies that call for almond pulp which I have a lot of right now, and a pumpkin pie smoothie I saw on the Raw Freedom Community website.

4. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure?
A raw pumpkin pie that was WAY too much work to make for what tasted like lumpy orange pine nut baby pudding.  Ever since then, I haven’t liked pine puts too.  The sad thing is it took me a while to throw the darn thing away since I put so much effort and muscle into it.

5. Favorite pickled item?
Does sauerkraut count? I really like raw sauerkraut when I make time to put it together and ferment it myself.

6. How do you organize your recipes?
I create word docs entitled Soups and Salads, Entrees, Desserts, Smoothies and Drinks, and Dehydrated Goodies and just copy and paste onto it whenever I see something I like.  Every now and then I print out the latest pages and add it to my recipe binder but I like using the computer most of the time because of the find-search function and because I don’t have to worry about getting food all over my binder or books.

7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal?
Trash only at the moment.  Compost someday hopefully.  It’s a bit too cold for that right now in Chicago.  But I do I take all my glass bottles with me to work and recycle them there.

8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods…what would they be?
Avocado, bee pollen, and raw honey.  I’m hoping there will be plenty of wild foods for foraging on the island!

9. Fondest food memory from your childhood?
Going to the local arboretum with my little brother and parents.  They loved to video tape us wander around, touch and feed the koi, and get WAY too close to psycho geese, ducks, and peacocks.

10. Favorite raw ice cream?
The hemp ice cream, “Hemp Scream,” at Karyn’s Fresh Corner.  Hands down, the best ever.  Only $18 per pint!

11. Most loved kitchen appliance?
The Vitamix, for sure.  I always wonder if I should recommend people get a juicer before a Vitamix because the Vitamix is just so much more fun.  I got a Vitamix first and I think it’s what kept me raw those first 6 months because I could make so many different drinks, soups, dips, dressings, and other dishes with it.  I bought it for myself as a x-mas present.  I love the product so much, I signed up to be an affiliate and tell people about it all the time!

12. Spice/herb you would die without?
Celtic sea salt if that counts.  I like Stevia a lot too, even though a lot of people get turned off by the aftertaste.  In my opinion, they probably just used too much.  I keep a bottle at work and at home.
13. Recipe (Cook) book you have owned for the longest time?

I threw out all my old ones since going raw, including the Better Homes and Garden one my mom gave me three Christmas’ ago.  I think the oldest one I have now is Raw Foods Made Easy.  That one’s my favorite.

14. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly?
Don’t eat jam or jelly but I suppose you could make an awesome goji berry jam if you processed it with some agave nectar.  Not sure what this question is doing on here.

15. Favorite raw (vegan) recipe to serve to an omni friend?
I usually make zucchini hummus with veggies to dip and for dessert cacao brownies.  Usually no one can even tell the difference between these and their cooked versions!

17. Favorite meal to make or time of day to make it?
I love making superfood smoothies on weekends when I get home from my morning workout.  I’m usually famished by then and way too tired to multitask while I eat so I make a smoothie that I pre-plan a bit on the drive home and eat it on the living room couch in utter bliss.  Best meal of the day by far.

18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator?
Haha!  That is too funny because I have SO much stuff on top of there.  It’s probably a safety hazard:  Aloe Vera leaves in a big bowl, and all of my BIG containers of supplements: coconut oil, non-GMO lecithin, tocotrienols, coconut flour, and MSM.  …as well as a big fern, a handwoven fair trade basket, and a big red candle.  See–told ya.

19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.
Loads of frozen fruit, the obligatory container of frozen raw brownies and chocolates for when I’m craving a fancy dessert, and a bottle of E3Live.

20. What’s on your grocery list?
Just went grocery shopping so I’m good for a week but I guess: burdock root (Whole Foods was out), celery, and…..Durian?  I miss Durian!

21. Favorite grocery store?
Stanley’s Fruit and Vegetable Mart on North Avenue.  Then WAS Sunflower Market but they just closed down, then Whole Foods.

22. Name a recipe you’d love to rawify (veganize), but haven’t yet.
Can’t think of anything that hasn’t been done although I do miss brussel sprouts and sweet potatoes every now and then.  I don’t think you can rawify those

23. Food blog you read the most. Or maybe the top 3?
Raw Model, Angela Stoke’s Raw Reform, and We Like It Raw.   A friend of mine just started a new one that I’m hoping will explode develop quite nicely too: http://www.justallowit.com/.  Check it out!

24. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate?
Sacred Heart Chocolates!  A good handful of Chicago raw food restaurants and health food stores have these now too.  My favorite flavor is Pacific Paradise.  Although I can’t have these after a certain time at night, otherwise I’m buzzing all over the place.  Holy cracao for sure!

25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately?
I got some whole ginseng that was sort-of candied in honey at a Chinese market the other week.  That was more exotic than extravagant, although it was pricy.  I guess I’ve been indulging by going out to eat at the new raw food restaurant, Borrowed Earth, and trying out the items on their menu.

27. What is one recipe, ingredient or cooking technique that you’ve become familiar with in the last year that you can’t imagine you ever lived without?
Juicing/my juicer.  I finally bought a Greenstar Juicer in the spring and don’t know how I ever lived without it.  I love my veggie juice!!!

28. Do you have a food inspiration in your life? Someone who taught you a lot about making a certain dish, or about food prep in general, or someone who taught you how to truly enjoy food?
Karyn Calabrese of Chicago.  She taught me how to live this lifestyle in the real world in a workable way, how to inspire others through that raw food glow, and how to take in more and more and still more greens every day.  And David Wolfe, who has taught me so much about the power of a positive attitude (having the best day ever, ever day, forever and ever), all about superfoods, herbs, smoothies, wildfoods, and thousands of other juicy tidbits mentioned in his lectures and YouTube videos. 

This is the question…

I always read conflicting articles on this.  Just yesterday I read another one on this really neat website I stumbled across.  Here is the article. And here is the new website.  The food and recipe sections aren’t really that educational for you and I, but the other stuff on green living is great.

Here’s the story: There are certain fruits and veggies that you should always buy organic and certain ones that you can get away with not buying organic.   Just remember-organic product has more minerals and it therefore ALWAYS better.  About a year ago, I decided to do my own research and double-check, weed through, and consolidate all of these lists.  The result is the below handy-dandy list.  You can copy and print this out and bring to the grocery store with you if you need to.   I’m also throwing in a few tips on how to pick produce.   

Fruits to Buy Organic:                             

• Apples                                                               
• Apricots                                                                                                                        
• Cherries
• Grapes
• Kiwis
• Lemons
• Limes
• Melons
• Nectarines
• Papayas
• Peaches
• Pears
• Plums
• Pineapple
• Raisins
• Raspberries
• Strawberries

Vegetables to buy Organic:                          

• All green leafy vegetables                                                        
• Cabbage                                                                     
• Celery                                                                         
• Cucumbers
• Garlic
• Green and red bell peppers
• Green beans
• Hot peppers
• Potatoes
• Tomatoes
• Winter or hard squash

Other foods to buy organic:

• Nuts and Seeds (Brazil nuts are the exception)
• Oats
• Rice
• Soy-make sure it is non genetically modified too
• Diary
• Sea Vegetables
• Bottled fruit juices

Okay to buy non-organic because low if any pesticides are used (but organic is always best and tastes better):

• Asparagus
• Avocados
• Bananas
• Blueberries
• Broccoli
• Corn
• Mangoes
• Onions
• Oranges and grapefruit
• Orange Peppers
• Pineapples

Tips on Choosing Produce: 

• better with seeds than without
• Ripe limes are actually yellow     
• Green peppers are actually unripe so do don’t bother with them (harder to digest)
• Carrots, beets and bananas are hybrid foods so try to minimize these

Fresh Staples good to always keep on hand:

• Apples
• Pears
• Avocados
• Celery
• Cucumbers
• Variety of geens (at least 3 different kinds)
• Fresh herbs such as basil, dill, mint, green onion, and garlic
• Parsley
• Peppers
• Zucchini
• Tomatoes
• Ginger
• Lemon

Have a rawsome weekend everyone.  I like the Karen Knowler’s, a.k.a. The Raw Food Coach, suggestion/challenge for the weekend: “Make a list of 10 Great Things you can do for yourself this weekend. Even if you can’t fit them all in, write them in your diary and commit 100% to doing them. Top Tip: Think holistically and think of 2 different things for your mind, body, heart and soul and then throw an additional 2 in for good measure. When you cover all 4 bases like this you feel even better. More rounded, more whole, more loved!” 

I’m working on my list right now…

Apologies friends…I’ve been out of touch for too long.   A computer virus, traveling for work this week (no complaints there!), plus much time and energy working on the vision and details of The Green Crush makes for less time to post :(  However, I am truly enjoying the unfoldment of my life right now.  I have been making some awesome new girlfriends, have been growing tremendously in my new relationship, and have been challenged to get my priorities back in order so that I can get my manifestational powers back and be at true peace inside again.  PRIORITY #1: Reach for the better feeling thought, always!!  Intend to look for things to be happy about.  Stop thinking about things that make me feel negative emotion. Etc, etc.

Even though I work for a big oil company doing what is more like a transitional job than my dream job, I am SO grateful for this job and the experiences it provides me.   When I really think about it, so much of my skill set is transferable to my next role of an entrepreneur, food business owner, manager, and marketer.  Also, how many companies fly you and 150 other team mates to Captiva Island, Florida in the winter for a team-building meeting?  This is where I was this Monday through Wednesday.  Most of my co-workers are pretty awesome people too.  My new friend Nicole and I stuck together most of the time, walking along the beach, running around the island in the mornings, taking a wildlife adventure cruise, and talking about life.  We saw dolphins, all sorts of birds, pelicans, and other large birds, even a jellyfish being washed ashore.  I saw two of the most spectacular sunsets ever (and got some well needed sun-gazing in at the same time).  Add to that dancing, cocktail hours, and lots of free time and you have the best business meeting ever.   The only part that made me a bit uncomfortable was constantly having to talk about my diet (because people almost always stare and ask questions when they see me eating, and it’s always the SAME questions).  I had a few challenges with the fresh food too.  The resort staff didn’t understand my need (and requests) for a green leafy salad with raw cut veggies and avocado or guacamole right away.  They keep getting me Cesar salads, or a few veggies with two slices of avocado.  But towards the end, they would seek me out and hand me my “special meal.”  It felt quite nice and I really appreciated the intention behind it, even though it was far from what I had hoped.  What I would like to work on more is to not get so annoyed when people start firing away questions whenever I sit down to a meal.  I want to eat my meal in peace just like everyone else, but then I realize that they could really NEED this information.  It could just change their lives, right?  I’ll add it to my 100 goals doc…

I found a really neat looking fruit/berry-bearing plant by our hotel room building too.  It looked like a cross between a corn/pomegranate/goji plant (see picture).  I tried to find out what it was but nobody knew.  I’ll try to post it one on of the wild foods forums and see if anyone can identify it.  I didn’t feel like taking any chances so I didn’t eat one.  Red berries are poisonous more than half of the time.  But believe me, I wanted to!

I’m about to do a whole-body cleanse with a Blessed Herbs kit starting this Saturday or Sunday.  My boyfriend wanted to do one as soon as possible this year and I just figured I might as well too, since not too many events or trips are happening in February and March.  And not to mention these month-long things are SO much easier to do with a friend or significant other.  Detoxing is always a good experience for me too.  I’m so energetic and at peace with the whole thing.  I feel like I’ll be able to get a lot done with the smoothie bar plans and menu too.  I think I’ll try all liquids (juices, smoothies, and raw soups) all month as way of optimizing my detox and trying out all of the options on the menu.  I’ll let you know how it goes.  I haven’t done the BH whole body cleanse yet, just the colon cleanse.  But I’ve heard great things about this one.

~Love, Lenette

I am still in awe…I stopped Sunflower Market, by one of my favorite places to grocery shop, on the way home today because I was feeling a Kombucha.  When I walked in the door, a sign said: Last Day is February 21.  This was very sad news to me, and from what I could tell, to everyone else who saw it.  I just love having the option to go somewhere else besides Whole Foods for organic and eco-friendly products.  It seemed like they were doing pretty well, but I guess not good enough.  Where is the love for well-priced organic/green goodies?  C’est la vie I suppose… 

If you’re in the Chicago area, we can support them one last time at least: this week, until supplies last, everything in the store is marked down 25% (no advertising on this until tomorrow but it started today), next week it’ll be 50%, the last week 75%.  I spent a bundle there today and smiled at every employee I could to express my gratitude for the place.  They’re packing all your groceries in reusable totes for free too.

I’ve been getting a few health-related questions from my readers.  I think there are a ton of fantastic resources out there for you to get the answers you’re looking for.  I love these forums and go here for questions that I have all the time.  Anything related to health, products, detoxing, issues with raw food—it’s all there.  Amazing how many like-minded people there are out there.  Here are the major raw food forums that I’m familiar with.  But I’m sure there are TONS more if you really start scouring the web.

http://www.rawfreedomcommunity.info/forum/

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/index.php

http://www.raw-pleasure.com.au/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,71/

http://goneraw.com/forums

http://thebestdayever.com/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=95  (you have to subscribe to this one but I think it’s well worth it with all of the information on this site.  Leading-edge stuff-all of it!)

Another thing relating to sharing the raw-food-love-knowledge:

There are now over 225 raw food blogs found!

http://rawfoodrightnow.blogspot.com/2007/07/ultimate-list-of-raw-food-blogs.html

I’ve found a couple new faves and encourage you to add to yours too.  There is so much experience out there for us to learn from it gives me the chills!  Also, some of the raw food recipes and pictures out there are mind-blowing.  Making raw food is definitely a creative outlet for many of us!

Much love,

Lenette

Although I don’t watch TV anymore, I have to admit that lately I’ve been really hooked on the new tube: YouTube. It’s not really new–I know, but I guess I’ve just started to realize how many things I can learn from it (and ways I can be entertained by it, of course). At the Raw Spirit Fest, David Wolfe talked a bit about where we are all going, YouTube being one of the MAJOR vessels of information. He showed us the video above about the man who discovered the secret to Stonehenge. It was absolutely amazing (and really funny at the same time). Watch it!

Since then, I’ve really been enjoying watching about 20 to 30 minutes of YouTube almost every day. At least one clip a day It’s like a treat for me after I do something less-than-fun for me to do like washing dishes or making my lunch for the next day (or juicing!). I’ve been watching David Wolfe (Rawvolta has posted MANY clips from his retreats on there–thank you Rawvolta–wherever you are!!), Abraham Hicks, Shazzie, Cirque du soleil, workout routines, music concerts, wild foods foraging, and much more lately. I think it’s the best way to learn now. Why read a book or try and figure something out if it’s going to take your hours when you can just search up a word and learn about it in minutes! I think it’s saving me a TON of $$ too. Why go to a Cirque du Soleil show for $100 tickets, and maybe a bad seat when I can watch all the good stuff online? (I know, I know–not the same, but instant gratification at its best!) Wonderful stuff. Yet another thing to be grateful for.

I think I’ve developed such a strong affinity to the website especially because it brings the raw food community in so much closer. Now you can type up any of your favorite raw food superheros: (David Wolfe, Shazzie, Annie Jubb, Victoria Boutenko, Angela Stokes, etc) and be instantly connected to them. Can’t make it to a retreat? No problem—Ravolta’s got dozens of clips from retreats on there. See the saguaro cactus fruit or an ormus trap up close. Want to learn EMF (emotional freedom technique), see your favorite bands play, or learn how to make raw foods? Just type and hit search and the universe delivers!

While I’m on the topic of bringing the raw food community in even closer, I’d like to talk about blogs-wonderful, amazing, information and insight-packed blogs. I’ve been hooked on a few of these lately too I think it’s so much fun to read about other raw fooders (or anyone for that matter)’s life experiences. Especially when they’re into so many of the same things I am. To know so much about perfect strangers really is quite weird but I feel like it is okay since I am exposing myself as well. The world seems like it gets smaller and smaller sometimes….

<3, Lenette

<–I’m also grateful for raw ice cream sundaes!

I’ve been getting asked that a lot lately and it seems to almost always catch me off guard. I’ve been doing that “when I’m…then I’ll be happy” thing I do again. The good news though is that it only takes me a second to think about it and change how I’m thinking in order to honestly respond YES!. We have so much to be grateful for and yet it seems so easy to focus on what we don’t have or on what’s NOT working. I’ve been listening to a lot of masters of “The Secret” lately, David Wolfe, and Abraham-Hicks lately and they’ve all been helping me get into that space of feeling like I have what I want NOW. Because we can all do it. Besides–law of attraction WILL deliver you the goods as soon as you truly FEEL like you have the goods. Isn’t that exciting and empowering to know?

Just a friendly reminder to you all that there is so much in the world to be grateful for, especially during this month of giving Thanks. Abraham-Hicks said on a recent cd that if the news actually portrayed the bad news in proportion to the well-being that abounds, it would be like a -blip- on the TV. Literally–a nano-second of static! We’d all be like “Wait–what was that?!” This made me laugh out loud hearing this. It’s so true!! Instead, news crews travel the world trying to find stories that will elicit negative emotions from us. Turn off the TV already!

So I’ve started up my gratitude journal once again. I feel better already and KNOW that things are really going to start POPPING for me again. I can feel it coming. Good things. I’m updating the vision board too

By the way, are you all taking advantage of the completely FREE information and inspiration being given to us at the Raw Summit 2?  Click here to get all of the call in and access codes to listen to 10 wonderful speakers we have left (you’ve only missed 4 so far).   Kevin Gianni isn’t the host this time, it’s a different lady and I do miss his voice but she is a good interviewer as well. 

After the interviewer talks (at 8 EST each night), you have 24 hours to listen to the call as many times as you’d like.  If you want to purchase the mp3s, you can do that too.  I’ve just been listening to the calls the next day on my way to or from work and it’s made my 70 minute commute just heavenly!  Who I’m looking forward to listening to next are Annie Jubb, Sergei Boutenko, and more raw food restaurant entreprenours!  Exciting stuff.  I’M SO THANKFULL!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!  Here is a neat website to check out for powerful prayers by Howard Wills (you can change the word GOD to Universe if you’d like–it’s what I do!)

Love, ~Lenette

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. But no worries–really! Just breathe :O

I’ve decided to put some tips out there for how to survive your first or second Thanksgiving being ‘raw’. After that, it’s free-sailing (I think) because people will know and accept your new lifestyle by then. Also, you may be hanging with a different crowd down the road–who knows?

Tip #1 Bring your own food!!! I cannot emphazise this enough. Do not go unprepared. Make and bring with you your favorite raw dishes–the most colorful ones possible preferably so you can feel extra festive. If it’s more than you usually eat, that’s fine (in my humble opinion).  You can bring home leftovers too! :)   I’ll suggest a couple items: a nice, big, salad with some nuts and/or dried fruit on it (maybe dried cranberries?), a side entrée of marinated veggies or something similar, something crunchy like flax crackers (a little spirulina added in will make them green!), a little dessert or two–that you made yourself or picked up from your local raw foods restaurant, and maybe your own bottle of organic wine or Kombucha (if you want a little buzz or something fizzy with the rest of the crowd!). The more time you spend in making your food and putting it together in pretty containers, the more special you’re likely to feel eating it. Others may even pick up on the vibe too

Tip #2 It’s also not a bad idea to bring a little extra of something you’ve made to share with others wanting to try out your food. I find that people around me are always facinated by what and how I eat so I like to give them a taste. But this is very optional. You’re not trying to convert others, that’s for sure. If anything, just open up some possibilities for them.

Tip #3 Intend to be accepted and to have the best time ever no matter what. Play it out in your head how you would like the dinner/party/event to go, meditate beforehand to get the fear or nervousness out, and bring a raw food recipe book with you to you can throw it at them and run if they won’t leave you alone! j/k

Tip #4 Eat beforehand. That’s an easy one. Just say you just went to a dinner and have another one to go to right afterwards.

Tip #5 Pull out the “I’m on a prescribed diet” card. That one seems to work for a lot of people. Tell ‘em you’re just following doctor’s orders But if you want to go the full-on honest route, make sure you’ve practiced explaining some of the benefits of the raw foods diet and know how you’re going to define it.  

Tip #6 Learn to not give a rip about what others think about you! Do your own thing and smile away the weird looks. I find that most people are pretty accepting though. Live and let live, right?

Tip #7 Go easy on yourself! If you have a little something-something (cooked), enjoy it and move on. The salad, veggies, and sweet potatoes or yams will probably be the least harmful though.  And it’s totally okay to smell the cooked food!

Tip #8 Don’t forget to be incredibly grateful for the enormous strides you’ve made so far this year.   Grateful to be the healthiest person EVER, eating the best food EVER, drinking the best food EVER, and taking the best care EVER of yourself mentally, spiritually, emotionally and physically.

Anyway you go, if you stick to 80%-100% raw foods this day, you’ll definitely be running circles around your friends and family with all of the enzyme loaded food and energy you’ll (we’ll) have. And next-week diets? Forget about it!!! Happy early Thankgiving to you!

Peace and Clarity, ~Lenette