Go Raw Chicago

Last weekend, me, my boyfriend, and four other raw foodie friends from the Chicago Young and Raw Meetup Group drove up to a campground about 40 miles north of Greenbay, WI, for a weekend of camping, rafting, and kayaking.  I’ve honestly never had so much fun camping!  It had been a while, I admit, since sleeping outside in a tent and I didn’t know what to expect but it is REALLY easy to go camping (and to travel) when you’re with a bunch of raw foodists (when you’re a raw foodist yourself).  Altogether, the six of us probably had every type of condiment you could think of:
“Does anyone have any olive oil?”
“I do!”
“Does anyone have any cayenne?”
“I do!”
It was so funny ☺
When it came time to eat (and we were all pretty ravished at mealtimes), we got busy preparing our salads and within 10 minutes we were enjoying our meals.  No time wasted roasting, toasting, smoking, etc.  And I think we creating much less waste too.  Most of our trash was compostable.

I think about all of us were traveling with a little shaker of Celtic Sea Salt, which I thought was pretty funny (I thought I was the only one who was salt crazy).
We all stopped at a bunch of produce stands and gave those folks TONS of business by buying corn, tomatoes, peaches, etc.  We were all in love with the sweet corn out there!  (I’ve never seen so many corn field in my life, by the way.)  Of course, we started munching on the corn the moment we paid for it and shocked everyone.  “You just eat the corn RAW?”  “Of course!” we said.  How could corn farmers not know how good raw corn on the cob is?  Crazy.
We all drank tons of water and carried a bottle around with us everywhere.  For the first time, I wasn’t the only one not walking around with a water bottle.
Everyone shared their crackers/snacks/desserts with each other so it was almost like a potluck all weekend long.
On the way home, we even got to stop by a small-scale maple syrup producer (although maple syrup is not raw) and learned how it’s made.  So interesting.  And so much work for the stuff!  Honey seems like a breeze to create/gather compared to maple syrup!
This definitely won’t be the last time I travel with raw foodists.  We’re going to organize some ski trips other sorts of trips involving some drive time in the near future.  I’d like to travel to other countries with raw food friends some day.  It would be so much fun, especially as we seem to have similar interests (going to farmers markets, visiting local farms, looking for local wild foods to eat, doing physically active things, etc).

And here’s my latest smoothie invention (another fun cereal imitation)

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Green Smoothie
2 big handfuls of spinach
1-2 ripe pears
Generous shakes or 1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup (approximate) nut milk
Blend!
Optional–stir in chopped bananas for more of a cereal feel ☺
I find that smoothies with pears require a lot more chewing (the “crunch” of the smoothie) because of the pectin in them.  Adding cinnamon and milk really reminded me of the cereal!

~Lenette

I’m going rafting and funyaking with some friends this weekend in Wisconsin .  It’s going to be the best camping trip ever! This will be the first time I’ve actually “camped” since going raw.  Thank goodness it’s with 5 other people from the “Young and Raw” in Chicago group.  We’re going shopping at Whole Foods tomorrow morning and bringing a ton of produce with us.  No problem!  I made lots of flax crackers and am bringing a bag of goji berries and hemp seeds for us too.  I don’t think it’ll be a challenge at all.  It’ll probably be just how it is when I travel to California for a week—tupperware, a small cutting board and knife, and avocado and salt (for dressing) will be key!  I’ll let you know how it goes next week ☺

I found a new raw food website this week.   It’s www.radicalhealth.com .  The raw food expert behind this is David Favor.  There is a TON of audio on the website you can listen to for free.  I’m not sure I agree with him on everything or am about to purchase all of his products—don’t get me wrong—BUT I have definitely picked up some great info from him this past week.  Take what you want and leave the rest from all of these raw food health experts.  Don’t get lost in all of the contradiction or you’ll drive yourself nuts.  My favorite saying happens to be from David Wolfe though: “One person’s panacea is another person’s poison; one person’s poison is another person’s panacea.” Well put.

Now for some really fun news: Coming up on August 15th, we are going to be experiencing the first ever International Green Smoothie Day!!!!  Hey—“if there is a National Hot Dog Day,” I think we really need to have a healthy food day to balance it all out, don’t you?

The whole idea was thought up by the Raw Divas over at www.therawdivas.com .  They’re inviting all of us to step up to a 3 day challenge involving drinking a green smoothie three days in a row.  No problem right?  Let’s all do it together though.  It would be so much fun.  It cost $5 to join in on the challenge but a major portion of this goes to saving the whales—no joke! (Click on the pic below to read more about the Challenge .)

I’m not sure how I’m going to help celebrate this day with my Chicago meetup group, but I’ll think of something fun.  Help me spread the word!  If you don’t “officially” join the challenge online , that’s fine too, but I think we should all raise our green glasses up on this Friday in a huge toast to our health ☺

Now here’s a new recipe I’ll leave you with:  Save your money on raw chocolate bars!  Make your own quick cacao treat in seconds!

Cacao Crunch
2-3 Tablespoons cacao nibs
1 teaspoon-1 tablespoon maca
1 tablespoon agave nectar
(optional) 1 tablespoon goji berries
Mix and eat until satisfied!

~Lenette

David Wolfe mentioned on an interview lately how instead of having A.D.D., like most people have, to flip it around and focus on “ADD”ing in things.  I’ve always taken this to heart.  This post is on my recent addition of two new things to my routine.

It’s funny how you don’t really “hear” or “get” things until you’re truly ready for them.  I’ve heard about the 5 Tibetan Rites dozens of times in books I’ve read by health and detox authorities but I never really saw myself doing it on a regular basis.  I’ve also heard about the seven chakras dozens of times, but never thought too much of them.  When I was at Erehwon in LA, talking to Truth Calkins about health and jing and staying youthful, he mentioned the 5 Tibetan Rites about a dozen times.  He is obviously a HUGE fan of doing them and it sounds like he does them routinely, twice a day.  While there, he turned me onto this book, the Ancient Secret of the Fountain of Youth: Book 2.   When I got back to Chicago, I got ahold of this book, read it, and ever since I’ve been doing the Rites every day!

It’s just like “going raw” or “going vegan”—it’s critical that you know the WHYS before you do it for yourself.  I guess this is because the WHYS really make you WANT to do it.  It’s not good enough that it sounds healthier or like a good idea.  You really have to arm yourself with the information in order to inspire yourself to reach the higher ground.

Since I’ve been doing them I’ve felt wonderful.  The best I’ve felt in months actually.  I’ve been sleeping better (this may be because of something else I’ll recently added in though), been meditating better, and been experiencing a heightened state of alertness and lucidity throughout the entire day.

It only takes about 10 minutes to do them too.  I follow along with a video I found on YouTube so it doesn’t feel like I’m doing it all by myself.  It kind of keeps me on pace too.  Here’s the video and here’s a printable version of the Rites if you’d like to check it out for yourself: http://www.mkprojects.com/pf_TibetanRites.htm

So my morning routine, now that I’m working from home permanently, is now: water, Tibetan Rites, mediate for 10 minutes, trampoline for 5 minutes, more water, get on the computer till hungry, more water….green smoothie time!

Here’s the other thing I’ve just added into my Health Toolbox: a Barefoot Connections bed pad.  This pad allows me to sleep while “Earthing. ” You can check out the site I got mine from at www.barefoothealth.net  Here is an explanation, from the website, on what “Earthing” is:

“Many people have noticed that they feel better when they spend time barefoot in the outdoors. Now we know why!

“Earthing™ (re-connecting with the earth) is a recent idea. It is based on scientific evidence confirming the long-suspected necessity for barefoot contact with the earth. Modern science has determined that standing barefoot on the earth (or otherwise connecting to the natural frequencies of the earth) has a wide variety of effects on the human body.

“Standing barefoot on the earth (or otherwise connecting to the natural frequencies of the earth) connects the human body with an unlimited supply of free electrons resident in and on the surface of the earth. Standing barefoot on the earth also connects the human body with rhythmic cycles of the earth’s energy field. These are essential for synchronizing biological clocks, hormonal cycles and physiological rhythms.

“Because our modern lifestyle prohibits most people from spending time in direct contact with the earth, Barefoot Connections™ products were designed to help make the connection - in the comfort of your own home or work place. In today’s world, re-connecting with the earth (Earthing™) could be one of the most important things you do!”

The two biggest benefits of this are 1) “Earthing™ supports the neutralization of free radicals that research has revealed cause pain, chronic inflammation, and auto-immune disease” and 2) “Earthing™ supports the synchronization of biological rhythms and influences the hormones that regulate sleep, stress and many other functions.”

Maybe this is why I’ve been sleeping so much better (or maybe it’s this in conjunction with the Rites).  Either way, I’m a much happier girl now, as you can imagine!  (I’m doing a three day fast right now too to add to the rejuvenating and balancing effects I’m experiencing right now.)

Note: if you DO happen to want a barefoot product of your own, please wait a couple more days; I’m working on a discount code that will get readers of this blog a % discount!  Lucky you!!

That’s all for right now.  I hope you’re all having the best summer ever right now.  I went and checked out the farmers market down the street from me last Sunday and made some beautiful kale chips with two HUGE bunches of kale (for only $5 too).  I can’t wait to try them after I’m done with this fast.  I also bought two HUGE heads of cabbage for only $2 each and made a big batch of sauerkraut yesterday.  Now I can’t hardly wait for the 100+ tomatoes in my garden to finish ripening!

If you’re interested in making kale chips yourself, here’s a blog post from last year: http://tinyurl.com/6pkghm

~Lenette

Last Saturday was our Mulberry Maddness Meetup and I have to say, I’ve never had so much fun foraging for wild food!  Gathering fruit is so much more fun to do with others than gathering for greens is.  Maybe because none of my friends out here are really into wild edible greens, but more likely because fruit is just so much more exciting and satiating to pick and eat on the spot.  We found not one, but two mulberry trees at the Magic Hedge and foraged to our hearts content.  One was a white mulberry tree and one was a red mulberry tree.  One berry for me…one for my cup…one berry for me…one for my cup… I’ve never been too crazy about the Navitas dried Turkish mulberries so I wasn’t sure how I’d like them fresh.  Fresh is SOOO much better!  The red ones are even better than the white (IMHO).  I’ll definitely have to do another foraging meetup soon ☺

I’m back to work now after taking a very relaxing month off.  I’m working for myself now on an online business but creating a sort of daily weekday schedule nonetheless.  It feels good.  I work for 45-90 minutes and then take little breaks inbetween (thanks to Dhru from We Like it Raw for this advice).  I don’t get burnt out and I come back to my computer feeling refreshed and inspired for my next round.

Right now I’m working on creating a raw food lifestyle DVD, the content being very similar to what I covered in my classes last year.  I’m currently working on the website and will soon be working on the script and then I’ll be filming.  I just love talking and teaching about raw foods and really spreading the word and inspiration. The website will be www.rawfooddvd.com or www.sunfooddvd.com, not sure just yet (or both!).  As far as I know, this will be the only DVD teaching/showing how to successfully incorporate a predominantly raw food diet into your lifestyle, not just about how to make raw foods.  How exciting!!  I really hope I can make an impact on others this way.

Some local news: I’ll be giving a talk to Doc’s Juice and Smoothie’s (a 100% organic café in Bucktown) this Saturday at 1pm.  I’ll be talking about the whats, whys and hows of green smoothies.  There will be free samples of several types of green smoothies too so if you’re around, stop on by!  Here is the link if you want to RSVP (please do!)

Above is a pic my bf and I made to bring to out friend’s pizza party last weekend.  While everyone was eating homemade pizza (which I can still appreciate the smell off ) , we were eating some homemade raw pizza of our own.  The crust was a dehydrated buckwheat sprout and flax seed cracker, the cheese was a macadamia nut and cashew pate, the marinara was a recipe from the Raw Foods Made Easy book , and all of this was topped with avo, olives, jalapenos, basil, sprouts, and marinated (in some Braggs) mushrooms.  We made extra so our friends could try some out and it was a good thing because everyone who did loved it.  Raw pizza rocks!  When is someone going to open up a raw food pizza joint??? Hmmm….

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a recipe on here so here ya go:

Cherry Cacao Smoothie

1 cup frozen cherries
1 frozen banana
1 tablespoon cacao powder
1 small handful cacao nibs
1 tablespoon maca

Blend in the Vita-Mix
Optional: Stir in sliced/slivered raw almonds

Enjoy!!!

I am just loving coconuts right now!  I’m going through them like crazy.   I recently got into two new things: coconut water kefir and nut milk kefir.  So far I’ve been pretty successful making each one.  For this post, I’ll focus on the coconut water kefir and coconut meat/yogurt kefir though.  I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to hop on the kefir train.  It’s power is probably in the ranks of  superfoods.  My friend Marilyn was always talking about making it, hosting kefir-making parties at her place.  I guess I’ve always just assumed it was made with a dairy base and did not want to compromise on my veganism.  But two weeks ago I was searching for something new….some new information to expand my nutritional knowledge base, you know?  I know you all do this.  It gets boring for me to not try new things all the time.  My Amazon.com purchase this time was The Body Ecology Diet by Donna Gates as well as a kefir starter kit.  It’s funny too because the week before, I watched this great youtube video (see below) by the owner of Real Raw Live in L.A. (he has a GREAT blog too-check it out!).  After I started researching coconut water kefir more and more.  I wanted to taste some!  It’s pretty expensive stuff if you buy it bottled!  See here if interested.

Kefir is some really amazing stuff.  There are two whole chapters on it in this B.E.D. book.  I think the best thing (for me) is that it really reduces sugar cravings–which I could definitely use less of.  And even if I do indulge in a little dessert, if I eat/drink a little coconut yogurt/coconut water kefir with the dessert, the probiotics in it reduce the harmful effects of the sugar!  How great is that?

To make the water, you use the water from three young coconuts, heat to 90 degrees (careful here!) and mix in the contents of one starter package.  Let sit in room temperature for 24-36 hours until sour and then put in the fridge.  You drink 4-8 ounces at a time.  Then to make the yogurt, blend up the meat of about 5 coconuts and stir in 4-6 Tablespoons of the coconut water kefir.  The ‘yogurt’ will be done out in room temp in about 8 hours.  After that you can move to the fridge.  If it’s too sour for you, you can always stir or blend in some stevia, berries or other fruit.  Just like yogurt and fruit from the good ‘ole days!

Here’s a fantastic smoothie recipe for you.  I just made it Sunday.  It was HEAVENLY.  Just be sure to air out your place before friends come visit!

¾ durian pod

Meat of 1 young coconut

Some young coconut water

2 cups of spinach

Blend!!! (in the Vitamix for best results)

Try it.  Love it.

**Extra, Extra**

Here’s an awesome idea for a knife (I didn’t do this myself, this is my most recent purchase from the last Chicago raw food potluck)

Weld a weight onto the edge of a butcher’s knife to make opening coconuts 20X easier.  Seriously.  Awesome idea folks!  They cost about $8 bucks.  I bought this one for $35 because I don’t have any friends that weld.  Oh well

~Love,
Lenette

A major blog is coming… Sorry for the spaciness in the posting.  Big things are happening and changing.  Life is so much fun!!!  I’m working on the post right now but wanted to buy myself some more time.  Here’s an AWESOME recipe I’d love to share with you in the meantime!

Berries and Cream Puddin’

8 oz nut milk (your favorite recipe.  Mine is brazil nut milk.  If you didn’t put any vanilla extract or bean in the milk, make sure to put a little in before you eat this)

1 tablespoon of chia seeds stirred in

Small handful each of goji berries and mulberries (dried)

Stir and shake every couple minutes for about 10 minutes and then place in the fridge to soak and expand in the milk overnight.

This turns out to be the most heavenly berries and cream breakfast or snack ever.  You’ve got to try it out!  It’s a good excuse to get those chia seeds you’ve been thinking about buying for a while now too

 ~Lenette

Part two of the previous post coming soon.  For now, here’s a great new recipe I created last Saturday: 

Lenette’s “Forget Spring–Bring on the Summer!” Smoothie:

¾ cup of frozen pineapple

1 peeled orange

¾ frozen banana

1 tablespoon vitamineral green

1 tablespoon greener grasses

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 tablespoon non-gmo lecithin

1 heaping tablespoon coconut flour (optional)

It’s was the best tasting Pina Colada I’ve ever had!  Like instant summer in my apartment Bring on the warm weather!

<–spread of raw foods and superfoods.  Soon to be replaced with a pic of the smoothie recipe I give below though!

Okay…my idea for one of the best raw food meetups ever: host a small raw potluck at someone’s house (10-15 people max).  Invite a (or your) naturopath over to the house for a reasonable fee.  I’m thinking if everyone pays $10-$15 each, it will adequately pay for his or her time for those couple of hours (plus they are getting an opportunity to promote themselves to a new audience).  They can talk a bit about health, detoxing, reading the lines and dots in the eyes, supplements that work, supplements that don’t, etc.  A little Q & A too, of course.   Then, he or she can also spend some time with each person, talking to them about what they see (from their skin, hair, eyes, etc), giving some possible solutions to their health challenges, and maybe telling them a bit about live blood cell analysis.  If the naturopath is pretty affordable (like mine is) everybody wins at this meetup!  The naturopath gets paid for their time and will most likely get some new clients, get to taste some amazing raw food creations, and probably learn a thing or two about the raw foods lifestyle.  And the Meetup group gets to enjoy a great speaker as well as one-on-one advice on their health.  Most people have never been to a naturopath before so it would be an enlightening experience for them.  I’ve thought about having my naturopath bring over all of her flower essence-making things so she could make a customized blend for everyone but then I thought this would take up too much time.  Instead, people could bring a few of the supplements and/or superfoods they’re currently taking and ask what she thinks about them or what dosage would be best for that person.  They could also ask her what detox she would recommend for their spring cleanse.   I can’t wait for this potluck and already have a date on the calendar. 

A quick update on The Green Crush: the menu is coming along quite nicely.  I am getting really excited.  I’m not quite sure about the pricing yet.  I’m still playing around with it.  I would do superfood add-ins for the standard $1 each or do something new like “Superfood Me” for an extra $2.  OR, if I should make the smoothies a little pricier and the superfoods add-ins a little less pricey to really encourage people to pay the little extra money and try the superfoods out.    

Here’s my favorite “Hold the Greens” smoothie so far:

1 large and juicy peeled orange

1 frozen banana

1 heaping tablespoon cacao powder

1 small handful of cacao nibs

Some orange zest.

To superfood it:

2 tablespoons tocotrienals

1/3 aloe vera leaf

1 teaspoon camu camu

1 tablespoon maca

Pinch of celtic sea salt

Make it and drink it with joy!

~L

<—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.