Go Raw Chicago

Well I made it out to the “Magic Hedge” for the first time last week.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day.  I was on a mission to find mulberries too, after reading Anthony’s post on them that week.  It was all a sign that I was to find them that day and then lead others to them.  I’ve been getting more and more into wild foods.  Studying up on more exotic types in books, trying to ID them whenever I’m out walking or running around.  It gets to be a lot of fun!

The Magic Hedge was just beautiful.  What a perfect blend of nature and city. As you can see from the pic below, you’re walking around in this thick brush yet you can see the beautiful city of Chicago from just about anywhere.  It is known to be a bird sanctuary so there are birds EVERYWHERE.  I thought I had died and gone to proverbial heaven!!  I did find the mulberry tree, too.  They weren’t ready quite yet, unfortunately but I’ll be back.  In fact, I’ve scheduled a meetup called “Mulberry Meetup Madness at Montrose” for July.  It’s going to be a blast! I’m planning on bringing a blanket or two with me too so we can shake all those ripe suckers off of there too ☺

It’s quite a change for me to not be working (in an office anymore).  I’ve pretty much taken the last two weeks as vacation and so I’ve been waking up to no alarm, no agenda or meetings, no real schedule.  I just kind of fit in what would best fit in the next chunk of free time I have (the only real things scheduled being gym classes and dinners and lunches with friends).  I’ve also gone from 9 hours of computer time a day to about 1-2 hours a day.  It’s kind of nice.  Less EMFs too.  I plan on starting up the research and scripting for me DVDs as soon as I come back from California in July though.

I’ll be going to California for eight days starting Monday.  I’m a bridesmaid in one of my best friends weddings.  I’m really excited to be headed back home too.  I’ve been having lots of surfing dreams lately.  The ocean is calling me!   I’ll be taking the bf with me too so I’m excited to show him the best ever farmers markets and raw food restaurants CA has to offer.  There are so many new raw food restaurants that have opened since the last time I was there–it’s incredible. As long as we get to hit up the favorites though, I’ll be happy.

Here’s a fun new smoothie I made for myself this morning.  I’ve made it before, but never realized how much the flavor reminded me of Fruit Loops Cereal!

Fruit Loops Smoothie

1 Coconut–water and the meat
1 peeled orange–with seeds is best

1 BIG handful of spinach
1 handful of goji berries
Blend in the vita-mix for about 20 seconds and…..
1 swear to God this tastes like fruit loops cereal!  Even the little speckles of red remind of how the milk used to look after all the “loops” were gone ☺  Enjoy! Raw food is so much fun.

Hi all,

Sorry to have been gone for so long.  Last weekend, my boyfriend and I went to Colorado Springs and had a really amazing time.  We went biking in the Garden of the Gods, experienced some really fresh mountain air at the top of Pikes Peak, got to sample some mineral water for several different natural springs, did some hiking, and even got a psychic reading.  It was all pretty awesome.  Here are some pictures of the trip below.

<–sampling some natural spring water in Manitou Springs.  It tasted very minerally and not as clean-tasting as I was hoping.

<–Ponderosa Pine trees smell just like butterscotch!

There are no raw food restaurants in Colorado Springs (yet) but with the help of Lara Bars and Safeway’s organic produce section, we did pretty darn good diet-wise.  There was also a great organic restaurant in Manitou Springs that we ate ate twice.   My advice for travelers is to bring some organic fruit for the first couple mornings and also some tupperware containers and utencils for making your own salads when you go grocery shopping, along with some Lara Bars, bee pollen, and Vitamineral Greens.  I bring Celtic Sea Salt and stevia too whenever I travel.

<–”Seven-Falls” behind me.  What a gorgeous day and view.

<–Garden of the Gods from afar.  Very appropriately named!!

Anyway it was a fantastic trip as you can see and it really is true that you can eat well –raw-vegan-organic pretty much anywhere!  (well Lara Bars aren’t organic but close enough ;)  I was hoping to do more wild food foraging and was studing my book the entire way there on the plane but there wasn’t much that I recognized.   There’s always my front yard though!!

I found out yesterday that I was in the Chicago Redeye on Monday.  Here is the article.  It’s about detoxing and the pains and gains of it.  It’s short and worth the read.

Two other tidbits:  I just bought myself a Q-Link because I’ve been feeling like it might give me some more energy (and more energy is always a great thing).  I think it’s really been helping me.  It didn’t go off when I went through the airport metal detector either. There are some really good deals on these on Amazon now.  I think the price has really gone down substantially and could be worth it.  I’m not a huge fan of wearing it as jewelry so I just safety pin it to the middle of my bra and it seems to work.

Also, I think I’ve found my replacement for Kombuchas.  I really love Kombucha (mainly the carbonation of it) and have been brewing my own in my apartment.  However, it takes quite a while to brew if you want to get all the sugar out (about 2 weeks) and I’m only making about 5 1/2 bottles worth at a time so it goes pretty fast.  But I just discovered this great drink called Talking Rain at Costco last night!  It’s fizzy, organicly favored sparkling artesian spring water, and it has zero calories and no artificial flavorings.  It’s perfect.  And it was only $9 something for 24 bottles so that’s about 42 cents per bottle.  Pretty good compared to 3.50 or so per bottle.  Just thought I’d share that with all you Kombucha addicts out there… ;) 

P.s.  I am also looking into taking a reiki 1 class so if any of you have done this or have any recommendations on where to take this class please e-mail me.  Thanks so much!
~Lenette

This post actually is on how to go and stay raw in the city…the city of Las Vegas!  The two Go Raw Cafés there definitely make it possible.  I really didn’t see any other organic dishes on any menus to even consider the plain-salad-and-your-own-flax-crackers option.  I just snacked on organic fruit I brought from home, a couple Lara bars, and some pumpkin seeds and ate two good-sized lunches from the Go Raw Café.  

Visiting this raw food restaurant was one of the major to-do things on my list :)  Sure, I love my green juices, smoothies and salads, but every so often it is SUCH a treat to go to a raw food restaurant for the fancy-shmancy stuff.   On Sunday, my boyfriend and I took a $25 taxi cab ride (yikes!) out there from the strip for a late lunch.  It just over 6 miles away from the strip.  We were starving so we chose to order and split three entrees.  We got the cheeseburger, Mexicali pizza, and mock salmon rolls.  We were in heaven!!!!   I even remembered to take pics this time.  It is always so refreshing to be in a new raw food restaurant.  I just love soaking up the healthy vibes.  I am also so grateful and lucky my bf appreciates healthy, raw, organic food so much.  This brunch ended up being part of my b-day present so I couldn’t have been happier!   We ate the food so slowly and happily; we were even laughing as we ate it!  Raw food is happy, fun food!  I think what we loved the most about this place was the bread they used for the bun and pizza crust.  The owners/managers of this place are the same ones as the Raw Makery.  It’s not just flax but a TON of ingredients including oranges and yams.  I usually try to make things myself once I can figure out the ingredients but this stuff would be way too much work.  It was very special stuff.  If you haven’t tried their products yet, I would strongly recommend trying it out.  Karyn’s Fresh Corner sells it.  It’s kind of pricy but it’s a real treat.  And you could make it last if you wanted to.

 And guess what?  We later found out they deliver for $10 so the next day, five of us in our group made a lunch order and they delivered it to the Flamingo!  (Got the cheeseburger and pizza again-they were so good).  I forgot to take a picture of us but believe me– all of my friends (non-raw foodists) were loving it!  I just love giving my friends the opportunity for a raw-food experience

Las Vegas was awesome.  We took a limo instead of a taxi cab on a whim for only $6 each; my friends surprised me by taking me to go so the Cirque Du Soleil show “O” at the Bellagio for my b-day; and my boyfriend and I won at the roulette table FOUR times in a row!!!  We took Vegas at the very last hour!!  Not to mention all the fun we had at the craps table.  I just love craps.  My friends can really throw those dice too ;)  FUN, FUN, FUN in the Vegas sun…

Stay tuned for my first youtube video coming soon.  The Young and Raw Chicago Meetup Group is having a potluck meetup this Saturday with special guest naturopath Kathy Warpinski of Nature’s Blessing.  I plan on video taping her doing some eye reading and muscle testing

~Lenette

Just thought I’d pass the word…

How can you receive a free gift sampling of raw organic chocolates delivered postage paid to your front door?  You SING!

1. Call the Raw Spirit Festival headquarters on either 928.776.1497 or 928.708.0784 9 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday during the month of February or leave a musical message on the voice mail with your name.  Please tell them Lenette Nakauchi referred you
2. Sing Them A Love Song (come on! You can do it… just delight them with at least a lovely line) and
3. Sign Up For The Festival!
    
4. Once A, B, and C are completed, then Presto! A scrumptious sampling of mouth-watering raw organic chocolates will arrive at your home or po box from one, or possibly several, of the following distinguished chocolatiers:

Golden Bean Chocolate http://www.goldenbean.com/

Chocolate Super Foods http://www.chocolatesuperfoods.com/

Sacred Heart Chocolate http://www.sunfood.com/

FortinaChocolate http://www.fortinachocolate.com/

Goddess Chocolate http://www.rawgoddesschocolate.com/

Gnosis Chocolate http://www.gnosischocolate.com/

Wild Bars http://www.wildbar.com/

I can’t believe how many raw chocolatiers there are out there now!  We’re so lucky! 

Now here’s an easy way to make your own whenever you’re out of the gourmet stuff:

1/4 cup coconut oil (warmed up a bit in the dehydrator if necessary so it’s liquid)

1/4 cup agave nectar

3 heaping tablespoons cacao powder

pinch of sea salt

dribble of vanilla extract or some vanilla beans (optional)

Sprinkle of cacao nibs (optional)

Mix and put dallops all around an empty ice cube tray. 

Put in the freezer and now pop out and eat as desired.  Yum

~Lenette

P.s.  Feel free to e-mail me with questions on the logistics and travel for the Raw Spirit Fest.  I highly recommend buying tickets as soon as you can as well as reserving a room at the Raddisson (where the fest is held).  Last year I bought awesome tickets through Southwest, flying into Pheonix and sharing a rental car with a friend to Sedona.  This year I plan on (and would recommend) staying in Sedona for a few days after the fest to go hiking, sight-seeing, etc.).  Put a picture of the Raw Spirit Fest logo on your vision board if you’re now sure you can do it but really want to… And there are lots of forums like http://www.giveittomeraw.com/ and http://www.rawfreedomcommunity.info/forum/forum.php where you can meet up with others in your area that you can travel and bunk up with!

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 finally made my way over to Borrowed Earth on Wednesday with a co-worker friend of mine.  It is located in the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove (just 10 miles away from the suburb my office is in!).  Danny and Kathy Living, who I met for the first time at the Raw Spirit Fest, opened this place up just seven weeks ago and I must say that I was absolutely delighted to see the décor and eat their AMAZING food.  They have a really long bar where you can sit down and chat with the chef and owners in the kitchen.  You’re practically in the kitchen!   They also have a tv screen where you can see what the chef is making (Danny calls it “the poor man’s boob tube” ).  My friend and I shared the sampler platter, the pizza (made with the best raw pizza crust I’ve ever had), and the chocolate cake (again, definitely the best raw chocolate cake I’ve ever had!).   My friend and I were impressed with the items on the sampler platter too.  Apparently, the drive out to the burbs has not kept the city folk away!  Danny and Kathy told me they’ve been coming back pretty often.   I’ll be coming back soon too.  A new raw food restaurant is big news for us Chicagoans, or any raw foodist, really.  Although I am really grateful for Karyn’s and Cousins,  sometimes I’d like a new place to go for the fancy schmancy stuff.  Variety is the spice of life

Danny and Kathy are truly selfless people and have put nothing but love into this place.  They gave me so many wonderful tips for my green smoothie bar (which I’ve been working on religiously for the past couple of weeks), that I had to ask Danny to slow down and repeat some things.  He was so generous with his knowledge and experience.  I am so grateful that most raw foodists are so supportive of each other.  If not because it feels good, because they want more raw food places to eat too! 

I’m really excited for this weekend because I’m hosting another Young and Raw meetup at The Social Butterfly Club, a funky organic club/bar that has amazing elixirs and tonics (alcoholic and non) using cacao, kombucha, coconut, etc.  Also known as “The Eco-Friendliest Bar in Chicago.” This is going to be a very different type of meetup than the larger Chicago Raw Food Community’s meetups.  We’re meeting there Saturday night at 9:30.  Then, on Sunday, I’ll be going BACK to the Social Butterfly Club for a raw food potluck with the previously mentioned group–the first one of the year.  I haven’t been with this meetup group for months now and am excited to tell people about my green smoothie bar plans, and to find out who can help me in any way.  I just love networking.

I am having so much fun working on the business plan for my smoothie bar, The Green Crush.  You know you’re doing your mission when you can work and think non-stop about something.  AND when the right information, ideas, and people are coming at you constantly.  Often, I am learning so much from the websites I surf and articles I read,  I just don’t want to go to sleep!  The menu and the marketing/adverting/promoting are going to be the most fun.  I think I’ll be living on smoothies for the better part of each day this year testing out all of the possibilities I’ve jotted down so far!

Have the best weekend ever!

Hi All,

Here’s my new favorite veggie juice as of late:

2 cucumbers

1 bunch arugula

2 inches ginger

2 lemons

6 inches burdock root

2 bell peppers

This stuff is awesome.  I thought it would be spicy but it really isn’t. (Mustard greens are spicy.  Don’t do it–TRUST ME–the worst drink I’ve ever had)

I just ordered yet another superfood supplement.  Supplements seem to be one of my favorite things to treat myself with, besides new gourmet raw foods and clothes :)  I’m pretty sure I’ve tried over 30 new supplements, superfoods, and exotic foods/powders this year.  Maybe more.  I just love trying out new products.  I go a bit crazy whenever I go to a health food store and see a totally unique one that I haven’t tired before.  You just never know which one is going to bring your health and consciousness to the next level until you try it. 

I just ordered my first bottle of Oceans Alive Marine Phytoplankton from David Wolfe’s Sunfood website.  I usually never order from that site because the stuff is pretty expensive but you really can’t get it from anywhere else.  And from what I’ve been hearing and reading about this product, it’s one of the best supplements ever.  Sounds promising.  I can’t wait to try it out.

My favorite supplements are probiotics, digestive enzymes, fresh E3Live, a B12 or B Complex, and Krill Oil.  Those are the ones I take everyday no matter what.  MSM too.  That stuff is fantastic.  There is a wonderful health food store in Chicago called LifeSpring that has a TON of supplements, healthy beauty products, and raw foods all for 10-30% off the suggested retail price.  I get an enormous bottle of MSM there for only $19.  It’s got to be at least 2 pounds.  I strongly recommend going there if you live in the Chicagoland area.  If you don’t, I recommend a website called Herbspro for all of your supplement and healthy body product needs.  Practically everything is marked down by 33%.  You have to pay shipping and handling but they discount that too if you spend over $89 (which consequently isn’t hard to do if you wait until it’s time to restock on a few things or if you buy a couple of things for some friends).  My favorite things to get from Herbs Pro are Chlorophlly, Hawaiian Spirulina (the powdered kind and the flakes), hemp protein powder, toothpaste, and face/body/hair products.

Tomorrow I’m off to California for Christmas for eight days and then New York (again) for New Years!  I can’t wait.  Hopefully the phytoplankton (being shipped to my brother’s place in Seal Beach) will keep me mineralized enough the entire time since I’ll be without my green smoothies, spirulina, and E3 live.  The baggies are all packed and ready to go.  I’ll probably juice whatever I have left in my fridge tonight to drink tomorrow morning too :) 

I’ll be putting together the business plan for “The Green Crush” smoothie bar on the plane and reading my restaurant book on the elliptical machine at Bally’s all next week.  I’ll be taking notes and asking tons of questions when I visit my favorite California raw restaurants too.  It’s ON. I can’t wait.  Look out Chicagoans!

~Lenette

I’m baaacck! (in shy-town, that is).  What a trip!  I LOVE New York!  I had the best time ever out there with new friends and old friends, sight-seeing, hanging out with fellow raw-food enthusiasts, checking out all the healthy hot-spots (and there are SO MANY), and dancing all night long (till 4am??).  The weather was great.  Flurries and overcast but still gorgeous and holiday-like.  I would just stand on a corner grinning from ear to ear until someone would say “Are you lost?” New Yorkers are supposed to be mean?

My new friend Anthony of http://www.rawmodelcom.blogspot.com/ and I hung out quite a bit checking out the raw scene and talking about our journey in health, spirituality and raw foods.   We had some amazing chats as well as raw food together.  The insights of raw fooders (and the food) just keeps getting better and better!  I was also very lucky to hang out with the new New York young-and-raw meetup group (not a meetup.com group but organized via http://www.welikeitraw.com).  I went out to lunch with them at a raw food restaurant on Saturday and also got to meet Dhrumil, creator of www.welikeitraw.com.  I’m now inspired to start my own young-and-raw meetup group here in Chicago! Stay tuned for that one…We’ll do things together that AREN’T all about food like going bowling, walking around the city, checking out art galleries, going to a new yoga class, watching an inspiring movie, etc.  FUN STUFF!!

No problems staying raw while traveling.  I don’t see how you couldn’t in a city like New York.  It was definitely awe-inspiring to see the plethora of salad bar restaurants and cafes, smoothie bars, raw food restaurants, healthy organic grocery stores, raw food delis, fruit stands, farmers, markets, etc.  Seeing these (as well as a back kitchen tour of Pure Food and Wine) gave me a lot more focus around my green smoothie juice bar to come. 

I’ll be posting more on this amazing trip soon.  Lots of synchronicities though.  Déjà vu too.  I once heard someone ask Abraham-Hicks a question about déjà vu and they answered that déjà vu means that you’re on the right path.  It’s you catching up with you; you’ve already had that experience vibrationally.  That’s pretty darn reassuring to me!!

Young and raw is definitely the next thing.  I’m so happy for the up-and-coming group of New Yorkers that are starting to hang out and really support each other on a more regular basis.  We’ll get that going in Chicago REAL soon….

~L

This is really hilarious–I was going through my pictures from my recent California trip home for my parents and ended up laughing out loud at this pic I took in the hotel room. My brother was laughing at me at the time too. Not exactly low-maintenance, am I? In my defense, I had NO CLUE how long I’d be gone and I knew that in order to keep my sanity during the climax of my emotional life, I’d have to have all of my raw food creature comforts with me (it worked too–I stayed raw and mainly organic the entire time

Good thing I had plenty of baggies on stock before I left! That is the secret I’ve found when traveling (or dining out for that matter).

This is what I brought with me….

Lots of dried food: soaked and dehydrated pumpkin seeds, apricot kernels, figs, prunes, Goji berries, flax crackers (several types that I made), granola I made from sprouted buckwheat grouts, dry oat grouts (I love soaked raw oat grouts with a bit of Bragg’s–it’s tastes like brown rice). It always helps to have a staple of dehydrated raw foods in your pantry. I like to make batches of crackers, cookies, new recipes, etc every 3 weeks or so.

Supplements: vitamins, baggie of msm, laxatives (good for when you travel because your body can get a bit out of wack), and contain of green powder (Barlean’s). I save all of my mint tins and use them as pill boxes. Every Sunday night I line seven of them up and drop my multis, B vits, crill oil, enzymes, and garlic extracts into all of them.

Other: Celtic sea salt (added to all of my water along with the MSM), maca, cacao nibs, raw food packaged snacks, a big baggie of sea veggies, stevia, gynostema tea, shaker cup, kelp powder, flower essences (good for stress and balancing of emotions)

Phew!!

The funny thing is that I actually came back to Chicago with more food than this because I went shopping at Erewhon, Euphoria, and the Raw Spirit Fest. I love being this way! It’s a bit expensive but it IS kind of fun being able to treat yourself to new tastes and higher level of health!

I don’t know if this helps anyone but these are just some ideas on what to pack when traveling I suppose. Of course, you can always bring fruit and unripe avos in your luggage too–which I did. (Yes, people will stare at you when they are eating these huge breakfasts and you’re shaking this drink of green stuff but I always like telling people about raw food. I show them the green powder container and they’re always amazed at the ingredients possible to get in the human diet). Definitely stop at a Whole Foods or farmers market when you get to your destination and perhaps buy some salad dressing (the Bragg salad dressings are REALLY good) and tupperware too so you can make salads in advance for your week. Happy travels!!