Meet Miranda Martinez, a Latina beauty who is an enterprising entrepreneur with oodles of enthusiasm and passion for the theatrical and culinary arts. She is an aspiring actress, a producer, and a raw vegan speaker, author, chef and superfood retailer.

Miranda lives in Dallas, Texas and works with Bliss Raw Café & Elixir Bar, Dallas’ first and only raw vegan restaurant, as a self-taught pastry chef where she creates sought after raw vegan desserts.

Embracing a raw vegan lifestyle has proved to be a beneficial chose for Miranda, which she talks about in the interview. She also talks about who has influenced her on this journey, about loving her work at Bliss Raw Café, staple items you might find in her kitchen, her dream role as an actress, and much more.

Enjoy the interview…

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: We both delved into the raw vegan diet the same year, in 2007. Since that time, how has this diet affect your overall well-being and lifestyle?

Miranda Martinez: Becoming raw vegan has made an big difference for me! For the first time in my adult life I have been able to keep my ideal weight easily (lost over 60 lbs), I have increased energy and vitality, my skin looks amazing, my LDL cholesterol has stayed down, I have made great friends and have met amazing people. I am very happy I made the transition.

IWB: What was your eating history before going raw, and which junk food addition has raw food helped you overcome?

MM: I was a omnivore… BIG TIME! Before my transition to raw, I ate everything I wanted and, even though I had pretty much done every weight loss diet imaginable, I hadn’t done any research about vegetarians or vegans. I was a food addict, period. I loved all kinds of different foods, but I had more challenges with breads, chesses, chips and sweets.

IWB: What people or events have most influenced your journey as a raw foodist?

MM:
Angela Stokes-Monarch: Angela lost over 160 lbs when she became raw! She’s been a huge inspiration and source of information for me in my journey.

Courtney Taylor and Brian Smith here in Dallas have been instrumental as well. They were the first raw vegans I met in Dallas and they guided my initial steps.

Karen Knowler: She’s been my model and mentor as a conscious online raw business entrepreneur.

Raw Vegan Radio: I’ve listened to many great interviews with raw food movement leaders. Great source of information.

Raw Food Meetups: I’ve met wonderful people who have become my friends, my community and support.

IWB: When did you decide to become a raw food chef?

MM: That’s an interesting question because there wasn’t one moment in which I said to myself “I’m going to be a raw chef”. As a matter of fact, before becoming raw vegan, I really don’t remember enjoying being in the kitchen much. Now in retrospect, I know I had some talent in the kitchen. My mother has told me in the past that her Panamanian “Arroz con Pollo” (rice and chicken) never turned out as good as mine and my friends asked me to make them my special birthday cakes or sugar cookies I made from scratch. The same sugar cookie recipe I started making at 12 years old to give as Christmas presents to my friends back in my native Panama. So I guess I did enjoy *some* kitchen play.

In January 2008 when my friend Israel Luna asked me to help him with a 30-day raw vegan challenge for the local publication called The Dallas Voice. When he saw how much my life (and appearance) had changed with the raw vegan lifestyle, he asked me to make all his food, deliver it and he wanted to make a video: a before and after show with his comments about the diet. You can see those videos on my website at . That was my first experience as a personal chef. I continued developing my skills by making food for clients as well as raw food potlucks.

Then in May 2009 I started working at Bliss Raw Café & Elixir Bar – Dallas’ first (and only) raw vegan restaurant. Initially, I was just hired as a server. I wanted to be part of the only raw food restaurant in Dallas – in any capacity! Then one day that same month, we sold out of all of our desserts and our pastry chef wasn’t around. I was serving that day and I wanted my customers to be able to have dessert choices. So I went into the kitchen and prepared a couple of desserts with ingredients we had available. People loved them, so the owner asked me to continue to cover for the pastry chef on the days when he was off. People kept making great comments about my desserts. The next month, the owner asked me if I would like to help her develop the new Bliss Raw Café menu. We worked on it for a few months and in late September we started serving it. We’ve had amazing comments about our new menu and I’m incredibly proud of it. That’s how I became a chef! I am self-trained and have learned a lot by just playing in the kitchen. I am currently the pastry chef at Bliss Raw Café and have been already for over 6 months, in addition of contributing to the menu at the cafe. I’m also a raw food prep coach and specialize in made-to-order raw vegan desserts/treats I sell via my website and I deliver locally.

IWB: Working as a chef and server at Bliss Raw Café must be a lot of work and a lot of fun. What is your favorite part of being a chef?

MM: YES! I love working at Bliss Raw Café. I’ve met so many wonderful people there. It is a lot of work, and when you love what you do, then it’s easy and fun. The best part of being a chef is when people love your food. I love when people call and ask if I’ve made a particular dessert (or request I make it). When it’s our guest’s first time at Bliss, they don’t know anything about raw food and they absolutely love it. Also when people come to the restaurant because they’ve seen my posts on Facebook or Twitter and I’ve made their favorite dessert. That’s the absolute best part of being a chef. I also feel I’ve done my job is when I’ve made the “new-to-raw” people love our food and have a great time at Bliss. Then next time they bring their friends!

IWB: What are your favorite picks from the menu at Bliss Raw Cafe?

MM: These are my absolute favorites:

* Elixirs: Chocolate Bliss 125, Hemp Horchata & Super Nova Shot
* Soups: Vietnamese Pho Soup (it’s served warm) & Tomato Basil Bisque
* Entrees: Margherita Pizza, Pad Thai & Coconut Kale Enchiladas

IWB: What type of challenges, if any, have you faced with your family, friends and within your community since embracing a raw vegan lifestyle, and how have you overcome them?

MM: Initially most people thought I was crazy for going into such an (according to them) extreme and limiting lifestyle. Before I used to go out to eat with them all the time and now I choose to eat at home beforehand or carry a smoothie with me, also because I do my best to eat before 6pm. My close friends have embraced my new lifestyle; most of them eat what I make and absolutely love it. My family has already gotten used to it and at social gatherings I usually bring dishes I can eat as well as share with them.

Before I became raw I did a lot of research so when I made my decision, I was very secure in my reasons to do it. I know becoming raw vegan is good for me and that’s all that matters. Even though, I don’t mean to talk to so much about my lifestyle, at gatherings my friends sometimes mention that I am a raw vegan to others and suddenly conversations revolve around me, my weight loss and Q&A about being raw. And I’m happy to talk about it, since it’s such a new concept to most people. Since being raw has become such a big part of my life, my friends have gotten used to it. Also I haven’t asked anyone to accommodate my lifestyle or changed theirs. So it has been an easy transition.

IWB: Tell us one of your most amusing behind-the-scenes kitchen stories at home or at Bliss.

MM: One day when we ran out of desserts at Bliss Raw Cafe I went into the kitchen and made a Pineapple Cobbler. I have never heard of a Pineapple Cobbler before, but that’s what we had and I made it. It turned out to be a Summer dessert hit at Bliss! And since it’s so easy to make, I even made it for The Dallas Observer’s Appetite for Instruction column as well as The Texas State Fair’s Celebrity Chef Kitchen when they asked me to participate representing Bliss. Everyone loves it!

IWB: Before becoming a raw vegan chef, you were and still are involved in the film and commercial industry, working in front of the camera as an actress, and behind the scene as a producer. When did you know you wanted to pursue being this industry?

MM: I knew since I was 5 years old that I wanted to be an actress. I was born and raised in Panama until I turned 18, so living in the US and pursuing my dreams seemed so far away. Even though I got a business degree from Southern Methodist University, one of the most prestigious schools in the US, I knew I wouldn’t pursue a corporate career. I’ve always known I would be an actress eventually. Being a producer happened later when I decided I wanted to make my own movies and create my own roles. I started my own theater company in 2001 and recently I started an independent film production company: Barú Films. I’m currently seeking funding for 8 films; some of them have already been written, and some of them are concepts yet to be written… it is all very exciting!

IWB: What is your dream role as an actress?

MM: I love so many movies! It would depend on the genre… In musicals a role like Velma Kelly in Chicago or Satine in Moulin Rouge. In action movies: Fox in Wanted, Mai in Live Free or Die Hard. In dramas: Lisa in Girl Interrupted or Paris in dentity… I guess I better stop here or I’ll never finish!

IWB: Who has been your greatest inspiration as an actress?

MM: Salma Hayek: She came to the US as an adult and has an accent (just like me), had limited roles given to her, so she became a producer and she makes her own movies and TV shows. Now she’s had nominations and has won awards as a producer/director/actor. She’s definitely a huge inspiration in my work. Plus people have told me many times that I remind them of her or I sound like her, which it’s a huge compliment for me.

IWB: What one word would you use to describe yourself?

MM: Outgoing.

IWB: What is the one thing about you few people know?

MM: When I arrived at the US I was 18 years old, didn’t speak any English. Even though I had already graduated in Panama, I enrolled in 12th grade in high school because I was scared of going to college without speaking English. In high school I made the honor roll every semester and graduated in the top 10% of my class of over 300 students with a 3.71 GPA. Two and a half years later I was attending Southern Methodist University. Very few people know that about me.

IWB: If we could have a peak into your kitchen pantry, what raw and living food staples would we find?

MM: In my fridge: young coconuts, raw cashews, Chocolate Bliss superfood mix, kale, spinach, celery, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, hemp seeds, guarana, yerba mate, nutritional flakes, EFA oil, raw cashews, raw almonds…

Pantry: Sunfire Salt, Spirulina, Revitaphi, Coconut Oil, Cacao Butter, Vanilla Powder, Vanilla Agave Nectar, Vanilla Raw Vegan Protein, irish moss, nori sheets, dulse.

IWB: Which raw food has become a staple in your diet?

MM: Green Smoothies and juices. I also love avocadoes.

IWB: What is one of your favorite kitchen gadgets?

MM: I LOVE my Blendtec Blender! We have enjoyed many trips together.

IWB: Where and what was your most memorable raw meal?

MM: Wow…I would have to say Quintessence in NYC. I went in October 2008 and I had some amazing crispy raw tacos and a delicious BLT… I was hooked!

IWB: Any words of advice or anything else you’d like to share to aspiring actors, chefs, entrepreneurs, and raw vegan foodists?

MM: Find something you love and go do it! Your heart knows exactly what that is. Each one of us is an amazing being and our God-given talents are to be shared with the world.

IWB: Thank you Miranda for your abundant enthusiasm, creativity, inspiration, and education you share through culinary and theatrical arts.

MM: Thank you, Ingrid. I’m honored to participate!

I am please present two [2] great gifts for this giveaway.

Miranda offers her ebook “Easy & Raw: Recipes & tips to achieve your goal weight
on a raw vegan lifestyle”

Bliss Raw Café & Elixir Bar offers a $30.00 gift certificate! PLEASE NOTE: this offer is for residence of Dallas or its surrounding areas.

Answer this question and you are automatically entered into the draw for one of these two [2] great gifts.

The drawing for this giveaway will take place Tuesday, February 9th at 11:59pm PST. I will use my favorite random number picker to choose the winning participants. The winning participant will be contacted via email and an announcement will be posted in the comment section of this post.

One entry per person, please.

More about Miranda Martinez

Visit her website Viva Raw and her blog by the same name Viva Raw

Stay connected with Miranda on Twitter

Join her on Facebook.

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Today is our lucky Friday for the “People” series. I am happy to interview one of the pioneers of the 90’s gourmet raw living cuisine movement and chef I admire, Brian James Lucas, who also is known as Chef BeLive.

Brian infuses his raw vegan recipes with a lot of heart and personal style, he is indeed a culinary artist. If you have ever read the title of one of his recipes, that alone is enough to send you into a hunger spell, just imagine tasting his creations.

Currently, Brian is working on opening a raw restaurant in the Los Angeles area, that will offer raw vegan cuisine sure to tantalize our taste buds. He is soon to be the author of his first raw recipe book, and you can find his Mom’s Stuffed Bells recipe, a recipe he recreated raw, featured in Carol Alt’s raw food book, The Raw 50.

Aside from planning the restaurant and book, Brian encourages, educates, and helps people maintain a healthy lifestyle through his work as a consultant, personal and private chef services, menu and product developer, and a teacher who teaches beginning, intermediate, and advance raw vegan food prep courses.

In this interview, Brian shares with us how he discovered raw food, who are his mentors, who has inspired him, his most difficult situation in his career as a chef, and more.

Enjoy the Interview…

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: When did you first discover raw food?

Brian James Lucas aka Chef BeLive: I first discovered it in 1991 but I didn’t realize it until 1996. Previously, before 1991, for my whole life, I thought I was allergic to many vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds because at that point ever since I could remember, if I ate any melons, cucumbers, avocados, walnuts, almonds, bananas and some others in their raw form, my cheeks and throat puffed up in hives immediately. It felt as if I has itchy scales all over inside my mouth and down my throat.

In 1991, I was living off the grid in Humboldt County, Ca., ie. solar power and not hooked in to the regular system. My friends I was living with were organic farmers and I remember the day so vividly. One of them asked me, “Want to try my organic watermelon?” I had never heard this term, but immediately I said. “No Thanks!”. Watermelon was one of the worse ones when it came to allergic reactions. He said “Come on, it’s Organic.” and then proceeded to explain what organic was. I felt an overwhelming protective energy around me so I grabbed a piece and put in my mouth.

I had tasted in many years earlier and knew I liked it, so as soon as I bit in to it I was amazed because I wasn’t breaking out. I remember eating so much of that watermelon. Then I convinced one of my friends to drive me to the closest health food store, which was 1 hour drive one way. I bought every single fruit, vegetable, nut and seed in it’s raw organic form that I had basically never eaten and tried them. I cried because of how happy I was to discover that I could eat these. It’s also when I realized I was VERY sensitive and allergic to chemicals and/or pesticides. At that moment, I started my predominantly organic lifestyle and eating more raw fruits and vegetables. I had no idea about raw living food at that point. It wasn’t until 1996 in San Francisco, that I learned about raw living foods.

My kids mom Whitney had told me a little about Viktorus and Ann Wigmore and how she read their books in the 80’s and had worked with Evan when he first started Rejuvenative Foods in Santa Cruz but she didn’t really explain much about the whole concept. Then, when Juliano and Vitya opened their restaurant Raw Living Foods we would drive past it and Whitney would try to get me to go but I wouldn’t because I pictured oranges and apples on the table and thought I could do this at home. Finally a couple months later she convinced me to go in.

After my first meal I was hooked. I couldn’t believe that you could actually eat a gourmet meal and it be all raw. I remember walking out of the restaurant and turning down the sidewalk feeling like I was floating, full of energy. At that moment I became all raw vegan for almost 2 years. After, I experimented for 8 years eventually finding that a predominantly vegan, mostly raw lifestyle was best for me.

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: Has creating with food always been a big part of your life?

Brian James Lucas aka Chef BeLive: Well, in a sense because I always loved watching and eating both my grandma’s and moms food. I didn’t really know of my gift until many years later.

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: When did you realize you wanted to become a raw vegan chef?

Brian James Lucas aka Chef BeLive: The day I bought Juliano’s restaurant, and realized the creator bestowed me with a gift that I can barely explain.

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: What one word would you use to describe yourself?

Brian James Lucas aka Chef BeLive: Blessed

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: What people or events have most influenced you as a chef and life in general?

Brian James Lucas aka Chef BeLive: Grateful Dead, Adoré Michelle Levitt, Zivu Lucas(my son), Inanna Lucas(my daughter) Whitney Mckinney, Juliano, Lou Corona, Jeremy Saffron. To explain this, my answer would be longer than the first question you asked so I will leave it at that.

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: I intended to ask you “If you were to open a new restaurant, where would it be”, but I am aware that you plan to open a raw restaurant and that the desired location is Beverly Hills, California. Will this be your first restaurant venture and how are those plans coming along?

Brian James Lucas aka Chef BeLive: I bought Juliano’s restaurant in San Francisco in 1998 and called my restaurant Organica: the Living Cuisine, it lasted a year. Juliano hadn’t been doing well when I took it over and it plain and simply was ahead of it’s time. As far as the new venture, I am creating it with Adoré, and our beautiful Kabbalist friends Baruch and Maya. We are scouting locations and meeting with potential investors now, and it is coming along wonderfully. I can’t talk about the name or details but I’ve already designed the menu and most of the kitchen. It’s so exciting!

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: Are you also working on writing a raw recipe book?

Brian James Lucas aka Chef BeLive: I currently have Orgasm of the Taste Buds which is a teaser version of my future first book. It has 30 recipes that will be a part of the 130+ recipes in the first book. My first book will most likely have a different title, still undecided. I have over 2000 recipes and can create 20 new ones a day with the proper ingredients, time and setting to make them. “Thank you Creator for the gifts you give us!”

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: When I’m logged onto Facebook, every now and then I get a delicious glimpse of a lovely raw dish or read mouth-watering titles of the raw recipes you made. Where do you find inspiration as a chef?

Brian James Lucas aka Chef BeLive: Once again, I give props to the Divine Creative Energy of the Universe that I tap in to, and I have a sophisticated palate to assist the channeling.

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: Do you have a signature recipe?

Brian James Lucas aka Chef BeLive: Nacho, Ranch & BBQ Kale Chips, Matzo Ball Soup, Spaghetti with Strawberry Marinara, Mock Chicken Nuggets, bunches of Exotic Pleasure Wraps, Lasagna, Pad Thai, Coconut Soup. I better stop here.

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: You’re a culinary artist, but when you want to make something simple, quick, and delicious, what do you make?

Brian James Lucas aka Chef BeLive: Super food Green Smoothie

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: What was the most difficult situation you’ve had to handle so far in your career as a chef? What did you learn from the experience?

Brian James Lucas aka Chef BeLive: Making a bunch of food for an inner city youth, Obama event with limited funds and equipment. I managed it though and it turned out perfect. I learned to make sure the client has a budget and that it takes care of the other challenges.

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: Do you have any mentors?

Brian James Lucas aka Chef BeLive: Adoré & as far as raw goes… Lou Corona, Viktorus, Vitya, Juliano and Jeremy Saffron.

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: Any chefs that you particularly admire/respect?

Brian James Lucas aka Chef BeLive: Ito, Sarma, Rawsheed, Angelina, Jeffrey Elaina, Chad, Roxanne, Ani, Juliano, Matthew, Mehmet, Rachael and Gil.

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: Where and what was your most memorable raw meal?

Brian James Lucas aka Chef BeLive: The one that sticks out in my mind right now is the meal I made for Adoré when she came home from tour with the Bellydance Superstars and New York. It was our anniversary and I recreated our first meal. The only reason it was more memorable than our first was because we had a dehydrator so I was able to warm up the Lasagna. The menu was Lasagna, Rainbow Salad with Creamy Italian Dressing with a Durian Coconut Drink that I call Our Fathers Milk. Truly memorable.

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: What is your favorite part of being a raw chef?

Brian James Lucas aka Chef BeLive: Tantalizing peoples taste buds in the healthiest way possible.

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: What would you be if you weren’t a chef?

Brian James Lucas aka Chef BeLive: I am a musician, writer and producer too. I’m focusing on the chef part for a while.

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: What’s the one thing about you few people know?

Brian James Lucas aka Chef BeLive: That I am actually a woman, JK! I am in touch with my feminine side though, Thank Goddess!

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: Any words of advice or anything else you’d like to share?

Brian James Lucas aka Chef BeLive: “Stay True, See Through!”

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: Brian, thank you for all you do and for the wonderful recipes and inspiration you share.

Brian James Lucas aka Chef BeLive: Thank you dear, bless you in every way, shape and form.

Giveaway

For this giveaway, we are pleased to offer one [1] microplane zester. This is one kitchen tool I believe every ‘un’cook and cook, should have in their kitchen.

Answer this question and you will automatically be entered into the draw for the awesome kitchen tool.

At what point where you hooked on raw, or at least intrigued enough to try it?

One entry per person, please.

The drawing for this giveaway will take place Monday, November 30th. I will use my favorite random number picker to choose the winning participants. The winning participant will be contacted via email and an announcement will be posted in the comment section of this post.

Thank you, cheers, and best of luck to all who participate.

Look forward to upcoming posts of delicious recipe from Brian. Many thanks to Brian for his generosity and contribution.

More about Chef Brian James Lucas aka Chef BeLive

Visit his website Be Live Light

Stay connected with Brian via ChefBeLive on Twitter and Brian Lucas on My Space

Join his Facebook page Be Live and Faceboo group Raw Living Cuisine “Orgasm of the Taste Buds”

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It has been months in the making, and finally, I am happy to post this interview with Nwenna Kai. She is an eco-entrepreneur, lecturer, food activist, raw vegan chef and instructor who has authored her first book, The Goddess of Raw Foods, but her accomplishments don’t stop there.

In 2007, Nwenna was the recipient of the Elizabeth Dole Young Entrepreneurial Grant from the organization Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) for her work as a health and wellness eco-entrepreneur. She is the previous owner of Taste of the Goddess Cafe, a raw vegan restaurant that was based in Los Angeles.

Nwenna has been interviewed on numerous television and radio shows, such as, E-Entertainment, The Travel Channel’s Taste of America, KTLA Channel 5 News, Blog Talk Radio, and has appeared in various magazines like LA Magazine.

I extend a long awaited warm welcome to Nwenna, and in this interview, she shares with us how she adapted raw food into her diet and her thoughts on embracing a raw vegan lifestyle, some fun information about herself, and more.

Enjoy the Interview…

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: Tell us about your eating history before embracing a raw food diet?

Nwenna Kai: I have been vegetarian since I was 14 years old and vegan since I was eighteen. Of course I’ve changed my diet from time to time. I spent some time in France when I was in college and I completely went back to eating meat because I just didn’t know how to stay vegetarian in France. Then I got really really sick and came back to the States and did the master cleanse for 14 days and got better. Then I went back to being vegan again.

Overall, I always ate really healthy. My parents always had fresh fruit available for us and we always had something green and fresh on our plates for dinner. We never ate out of cans or boxes. When I went to college, I was astonished to see people put two or three starches on one plate at a time. Having a green vegetable in my household was the rule, not an option. So that stayed with me.

IWB: When did you discover raw food and what inspired you adapt it to you lifestyle?

NK: I discovered raw foods in the year 2000 while I was an art student in Chicago. I was sick all the time. I was eating a mostly cooked vegan diet and I suffered from horrible headaches, acne, constipation, a thyroid disorder, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, anxiety, sciatica. You name it. I experienced it. So the constipation was the most debilitating so I said to myself if I ate salads and fresh juices for a week, then I’ve got to go to the bathroom and that’s what I did and I surely went to the bathroom. I just kept eating the salads until I was sick of salads and then I met someone on a yoga retreat who happened to be a raw foodist who introduced me to Karyn Calabrese’s restaurant in Chicago and I bought all the books and equipment and started experimenting with food.

What inspired to adapt it to my lifestyle was simply based on how I kept feeling. I just was feeling so good and the food was nourishing my body so I just kept educating myself about it.

IWB: What is the most amusing response or reaction that you’ve experienced when you told someone about the raw food diet?

NK: “Its dangerous to eat raw foods all the time because of all the bacteria.” Right? I had to laugh at that one. Or, “Are you going to make your kids eat that way too?” Like God forbid right? What’s interesting about these reactions is that people don’t even realize what they are saying. We are so programmed by other people’s programming which is programming by other people’s programming that we are on autopilot and we ourselves can’t see through our own stuff.

IWB: What people or events have most influenced your journey as a raw foodist?

NK: Karyn Calabrese’s restaurant was my first introduction to the world of raw foods, so she has been such an inspiration to me as a business woman, a raw foodist, and as a woman of color especially since the raw foods movement doesn’t really recognize people of color as much who are pioneers and leaders in this movement as well.

The events that influence me the most is when people reach out to me and tell me how much I’ve helped them. I also just love educating people about their health and well-being. Also being African American I am doing a lot of work in my own community with educating people. I grew up with a grandmother who grew collard greens in the middle of the ghetto in a community garden in West Philadelphia. Raw Foods is an interesting diet because some of the foods you can’t get them in the ghetto. You won’t find nori rolls, durian, or hemp seeds in the supermarkets in the ghetto but you can grow collard greens, tomatoes, and bell peppers anywhere so I love the simplicity of eating a raw foods diet. Some people think oh, I gotta have a lot of money to eat this way and you don’t. All those superfoods and stuff probably costs a lot of money and they taste really good but a ripe tomato just pulled out of the ground is like putting heaven on your tongue.

IWB: When did you decide to become a chef and how did you learn to “un” cook?

NK: Its funny because I never decided to become a chef. And I really don’t consider myself to be a chef. I love raw foods and I teach people about raw foods but I am self-taught and self-learned and I pretty much break all the rules around being a chef. But I learned how to “un” cook from eating this way and then from running my own restaurant.

IWB: Who inspires you as a chef?

NK: Definitely my own taste buds inspire me as well as my culture and background growing up in an African American family where food is like medicine. Simplicity also influences me since I’m such a simple person who likes ease and comfort at the same time so I create recipes based on what I would like to eat, what is functional in terms of what ingredients can I grab easily, are readily available, and simple and easy to make.

IWB: If we could have a peak into your kitchen pantry, what raw food staples would we find?

NK: I love seaweeds so I keep dulse flakes, nori rolls, wakame, and arame in my pantry. That’s as exotic as it gets.

IWB: What is/are your favorite kitchen gadget[s]?

NK: The Vitamix of course.

IWB: Tell us one [or more!] of your all-time favorite raw vegan recipes?

NK: Watermelon gazpacho soup. Its the best on a hot hot day.

IWB: What type of challenges, if any, have you faced with your family, friends and within your community since embracing a raw vegan lifestyle, and how have you overcome them?

NK: I still face challenges with friends and family who just don’t get it or understand. I still get asked questions like “you don’t eat fish or chicken” or “you eat like a bird” or “how can you get full from just eating vegetables and fruits all day”. But those challenges have dwindled over the years as my life is full of people who want to be healthy and eat better and so instead of critcizing, they are calling me asking me for advice and recipes.

IWB: What are you most proud of as a raw vegan?

NK: I am most proud that I healed a lot of my physical ailments with a raw foods diet and I also that I have a testimonial to use to teach and inspire others to do the same.

IWB: Tell us one of your most amusing behind-the-scenes kitchen stories.

NK: Too many to tell. There were a lot of fun times I had in my restaurant with my employees in preparing food, and experimenting with food, chatting it up with customers, seeing who would come in.

IWB: Where and what was your most memorable raw meal?

NK: When I first started eating raw food, I was introduced to it from an ex-boyfriend. That was my first raw foods meal at a raw foods restaurant and it was at Karyn’s Fresh Corner in Chicago. We had a chickpea salad with sprouts, some nori rolls stuffed with a almond pate I believe and then we finished it off with carrot cake. It was memorable because I remember feeling so nourished from the experience of eating live food and sharing it with someone who I really cared about. It was awesome.

IWB: If you could be or do anything else, what would you do or be?

NK: When I was in Australia in March of this year, I saw dolphins for the first time. I might want to be a dolphin but other than that I would like to get into this time travel thing.

IWB: What one word would you use to describe yourself?

NK: Sassy.

IWB: What’s the one thing about you few people know?

NK: That I’m a quantum physics, metaphysics, science freak. I love anything about the esoteric, the mythic, the ancient, the erotic, the 5th dimensional. I crave that stuff like I crave love and watermelon gazpacho soup on a hot summer day.

IWB: Is there a food you can’t bring yourself to like?

NK: Durian. Can’t find it in the ghetto.

IWB: What are some things you enjoy doing in your spare time?

NK: I watch a lot of films and I read a lot of books. I love hiking, sweating at the spa, and spending time with the ones I love the most.

IWB: As a previous restaurant owner, what was the most difficult situation you had to handle and what did you learn from the experience?

NK: Wow. There are too many to choose. Mostly the multi-tasking was just too difficult. And so what did I learn? That I was extremely creative and multi-talented.

IWB: Any plans on opening another raw restaurant?

NK: I’m doing consulting work with investors who want to open up a raw foods restaurant in downtown LA, but I don’t have any plans on opening up another restaurant anytime soon. I love the restaurant industry, but I love my freedom also.

IWB: What are some important things each of us can do to stay on the raw food tract?

NK: Surround yourself with people who adopt your diet and your lifestyle, and arm yourself with a lot of information, and learn how to eat intuitively instead of listening to everyone else tell you what to eat and how to eat, and don’t put so much pressure on yourself. Sometimes the raw foods community can be so extreme and its almost like we’ve become the raw foods police force. I think balance and moderation is the key to everything.

Giveaway

For the giveaway, Nwenna offers a copy of her book The Goddess of Raw Foods to one Raw Epicurean reader. To participate in the drawing, simply answer the question:

If we could have a peak into your kitchen pantry, what raw food staples would we find?

One entry per person, please.

The drawing for this giveaway will take place Monday, October 26th. I will use my favorite random number picker to choose the winning participants. The winning participants will be contacted via email and an announcement will be posted in the comment section of this post.

Thank you and best of luck!

More About Nwenna Kai

Visit her website nwennakai.com, her blog , and Nwenna Kai on My Space.

Shop on Amazon for her book The Goddess of Raw Foods.

Watch her on UTube Nwenna Kai on You Tube.

Stay connected with Nwenna via Facebook.

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Photography by :: Ellen Atkins

Angela Stokes-Monarch is an incredible inspiration. She is one of the raw food world’s natural health heroes who helps guide and educate many toward healing, better health and well-being.

Many of you may already know her story, if not, you can watch her appearance on CNN News. She has traveled the road on a magical journey of transformation, from losing excess weight to gaining radiant health, and she continues on the path sharing her knowledge to help inspire others who seek the journey. Angela is an author, speaker, singer, and an all-around giving spirit of love and light.

In this interview, Angela shares with us which raw food has become a staple in her diet, her favorite kitchen tools, which natural health heroes and mentors have educated and inspired her, and more.

Enjoy the Interview…

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: When did you first discover the world of raw food?

Angela Stokes-Monarch: In May 2002 I was living in Iceland and a friend lent me the book ‘Raw Family’ by the Boutenkos. I weighed nearly 300lbs at the time. I read the whole book in one night, went raw the next day and released 160lbs over the next two years ;)

IWB: I would like to congratulate you and Matt Monarch on your union as husband and wife. How did you meet initially, and did your raw food lifestyle play a part in your meeting?

ASM: Thank You :) We actually met through the internet – lol… Back in November 2005 I had just written my first raw food book and was looking for people in the USA to help me sell it. Mr. Monarch was one of the US raw people I found on Google and contacted – I didn’t know who he was at the time. He went to my website, saw my before and after pics and well…it all unfolded from there…emails led to phone calls led to me visiting him in the US and 3.5 years later, here we are in newlywed bliss ;)

IWB: When did you decide to join forces and become a dynamic team who educates and inspires other to be healthy?

ASM: We started working together on things in early 2006 in terms of talks, book ideas and so on…I guess it wasn’t really until Mr. M proposed to me in August 2007 that things were really solidified into place between us though.

These days we have multiple shared projects going on – books, talk tours, online stores, a 30 day weight loss plan, a daily online raw food TV Show, a new monthly Raw Food World radio show and so on…we feel very blessed :)

IWB: Overall how has embracing a raw food lifestyle contributed to your health and well-being?

ASM: My life has COMPLETELY changed since going raw…to the point of being unrecognisable ;) Physically I released around 160lbs, my thyroid is now naturally balanced and I no longer get ill…and far beyond that, my life has changed in every other way imaginable – emotionally, socially, mentally, spiritually, romantically, financially, you–name–it–ly…my life has flip–flopped into a place of radiant vibrancy and I feel extremely grateful ;) I read my old diaries or look at pictures from my pre–raw days and find myself wondering ‘who WAS that person…?’

IWB: Between the two of you, who prepares raw food the most?

ASM: We usually split juicing/food–making pretty much down the middle… We often eat different things, so I make my food, he makes his, then we both help with cleaning things up in the kitchen. In terms of juicing, it often works out that one of us does the actual juicing and one does the clean–up – it all feels very balanced and yummy to me ;)

IWB: What is/are your favorite kitchen tool(s)?

ASM: The juicer and blender are key for me…plus nut milk bags for straining juice, making nut milks and sprouting. We don’t have a dehydrator as we live on the road and we’re not so much into dried foods. Actually at this point the only piece of equipment we own ourselves is a K–Tec blender, plus nut milk bags…we use other peoples’ juicers as we travel around, or make juice using the blender + nut milk bag combo ;)

IWB: Which raw food has become a staple in your diet?

ASM: Greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeens :) When I was growing up I felt like salads were ridiculous and pointless – I only wanted to eat a meal if it had meat in it. Now my feelings are basically reversed and leafy greens feel like the ’staple’ to me for feeling healthy, balanced, vibrant, mineralised and alkalised. We drink green juices daily, eat energy soups, salads, smoothies – anywhere we can get our greens in ;)

IWB: What fruits or vegetables are your favorites, least favorite, and why?

ASM: Favourite fruits and veggies: durian, eggfruit, papaya, cherries, blueberries, okra, romaine, sunflower greens, baby spinach, alfalfa sprouts. Least favourites: grapefruit (tastes outrageously disgusting to me) and potatoes, as they’re no use to me as a raw foodie ;)

IWB: What one word would you use to describe yourself?

ASM: Blessed.

IWB: Do you have a favorite raw food recipe you’d like to share with us?

ASM: ‘Chocolate Milk’ Juice: juice together romaine lettuce, spinach and carrots = tastes like chocolate milk – yummmmm ;) This is a GREAT starter juice for children/sceptical people and so on – maybe even sweeten it up a little with extra carrot or apple. LOVE it :) For one to two people maybe use 1 head romaine, 1 bunch spinach, 1lb carrots – enjoy :)

IWB: If you could be or do anything else, what would you be or do?

ASM: Other than being a griffin, I’d love to be a singer :) I used to do a lot of singing/song writing in my younger years and these days I make raw food versions of songs and put them up on YouTube ;) I have the intention to write a whole raw food musical – keep your eyes and ears open for that one…

IWB: Which food product[s] from your raw food product line is/are your personal favorite[s]?

ASM: Hmmmmmm, we have a HUGE online store at TheRawFoodWorld.com with literally hundreds of products, so it’s a little challenging to choose…I think I’d go for these though: chlorella tablets, chia seeds, dulse, bee pollen and the creamy almond butter ;)

IWB: Name some of the natural health heroes and mentors, who have educated and inspired you?

ASM: My partner Matt Monarch of course ;) I am also GREATLY inspired by the ‘Anastasia’/'Ringing Cedars of Russia’ books and the Dervaes family of PathwaytoFreedom.com. Kate Magic and Shazzie are my raw food diva heroines in the UK. Mike Adams of NaturalNews.com, the Giannis of RenegadeHealth, Brian Johnson of PhilosophersNotes.com, the BirthIntoBeing DVD and website, Jinjee of TheGardenDiet.com…MANY people inspire me ;)

IWB: Whether a person is 100% raw or not, is there any particular advice you’d like to share with us on maintaining a raw food diet?

ASM: ENJOY what you’re doing, take it slowly (start at least 50% raw and take it from there), get support from others on this path, drink at least one green drink a day, eat mostly FRESH water–rich raw foods, do colon hydrotherapy to help the detox, sweat every day, get your heart rate UP at least once a day, be honest and kind with yourself and others about your food choices and forage for any wild foods you can safely identify ;) ENJOY…

IWB: Any other words of advice or anything else you’d like to share?

ASM: Live, Love and Let Go…enjoy the journey ;)

Giveaway

For the giveaway, Angela offers a complete package of ALL her informative, educational, motivational, and inspiring e-books. You will receive these ebooks:

Answer this question and you will automatically be entered into the draw for these awesome ebooks.

Name some of the natural health heroes and mentors, who have educated and inspired you?

One entry per person, please.

The drawing for this giveaway will take place Tuesday, October 13th, and I will use my favorite random number picker to choose the winning participants. The winning participants will be contacted via email and an announcement will be posted in the comment section of this post.

Thank you and best of luck to all who participate.

More about Angela Stokes-Monarch

Visit her website Raw Reform and her blog Raw Reform E-Journal

Watch The Raw Food World TV Show and Angela’s appearance on CNN News

Shop The Raw Food World for raw books, foods items, appliances, and more.

Stay connected with Angela via RawReform on Twitter and Facebook

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In the world of parapsychology, mysticism, prophecy, and the occult John Hogue needs no introduction. For those of us who may not be familiar with him, John Hogue is a “rogue” prophecy scholar and world authority on Nostradamus, who writes on the subjects of parapsychology, mysticism, prophecy, and the occult. He is an internationally acclaimed best-selling author of numerous books that have been published in 18 languages. Nostradamus: A Life and Myth is one of these books, which I’ve read, and is one of the items for the giveaway.

He has appeared on over 700 radio and television shows. One popular late night radio show and one of my personal favorites is Coast to Coast AM with Goerge Noory, which John Hogue is a frequent guest. The History Channel televises documentaries featuring special appearances with John Hogue and his work, and also produces DVD’s on the topic.

In this interview, John Hogue shares with us how he became a “rogue” prophecy scholar, his mentors, his thoughts on a plant-based diet, other prophets, like Nostradamus’ culinary passion, John’s other interests, and much more.

Enjoy the interview. This is Part I of two interviews.

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: Tell us a bit about your background What inspired you to become the “rogue” prophecy scholar you are today?

John Hogue: Since being a young boy, I have been an old man growing younger as the body ages. Back then I had a fascination with current events and the repetition of history like a doctor is fascinated with pathology. I wanted to understand “why” history kept repeating itself, and I had an instinctive skepticism of what teachers and “authorities” taught, because if they really knew what they were talking about, why has humanity not learned history’s lessons. Do we repeat mistakes because we do not learn from history, or, do those who teach us teach the wrong conclusions about history’s lessons? (A very serious young boy, there.)

Anyway, when it started getting too serious I fell into an existential crisis by the time I was in my 20s so I began searching for spiritual and religious answers, especially those less orthodox or more Eastern than those I was indoctrinated to follow as a being labeled “Western Caucasian American” stamped on the bum side of my soul. In the process of studying religious paths, I became aware of the prophetic scriptures of the world. It seemed “future history” was just as plagued as the past with patterns of conditioned habits. The future seemed just as repetitively tragic as the past. So, as I embarked since 1980 on the path of meditation on the side was this continued evolution of my study of what made people predictable in the past and predictable in the future.

My work is all about understanding the engine of conditioning each new generation to be as silly and miserable as the past, no matter what the color or design of the cultural or religious blinders put upon the inner eye of their souls as “truth.”

Thus, my iconoclastic experiential slant on prophecy is perhaps unique among prophecy scholars. That is why I am known as a “Rogue Scholar”.

Over the past 30 years, I must have studied enough on my own to become a Rhodes scholar but I attained no degrees, short of the minimum requirement — a high school diploma — in 1974. More than this degree in society’s de-education of my intelligence was too much to bear. The price for a further dulling of intelligence required I assume deeper degrees of BS, BMs, and ‘piled high and deep’ PhDs of borrowed knowledge.

IWB: Who is/are/were your mentor[s]?

JH: Existence is first and foremost the mentor of us all. It is life itself. There were many others and still many more coming. Ray Bradbury taught me how to write. My meditation teacher, Osho, still teaches me before and beyond the grave to be aware of the witnessing consciousness that abides all changes in the body-mind and to celebrate living as a “Zorba the Buddha” in the marketplace of a constantly changing and impermanent world we all share. He taught me to be a witness of these things, and more: To be aware of that which is beyond what consciousness reflects. For that I cannot limit my answer in mere words. At a point one must stop talking about H2O and jump into the water. Meditation techniques are a way to prepare for real meditation. Those who want to know more than what I’ve said here must come and meditate with me.

IWB: When did you become a vegetarian, and what motivated you to do so?

JH: I was 25 years old. I was motivated by practicality, not anything holy-baloney “spiritual.” I discovered after a first quarter century of living in this body that it didn’t like animal flesh of any kind. Once I stopped eating it I became a hale and hearty high-energy fellow ever since.

IWB: What are your thoughts on consuming a plant-based diet and the role it plays on the health of our environment?

JH: First off, a word about dietary spiritual conceits. From my experience, vegetarianism does not make you more spiritually evolved. Case in point, Adolf Hitler tried all his life to be a vegetarian while Jesus Christ ate meat.

There are many people, born of Western bodies, who try to claim some spiritual attainment by eating Vegan or Veg. at the cost of making themselves less energetic, unhealthy and mentally dull. I will tell you right now, as a Vegan now for four years, who eats eggs, if at any moment my body impresses upon me the need to eat fish, chicken, lamb, or beef I will do it without hesitation or any spiritual guilt. What is good for Gurdjieff or Muhammad, or all the Sufi mystics, many of the Zen masters, or even poor ole Jesus left hanging around as some lamb sacrifice of God is good for me too.

Now, with that said, my own experience agrees with my own teacher, Osho. About six months after I quit eating meat, fish or chicken I felt a glugginess leave my bodily and nervous system. I felt a lighter quality in my body-mind. I did feel less gross, more sensitive. Moreover, in my case I got physically stronger. I mean, if big 800-pound, muscle bound, chest thumping gorillas can eat bunny-fare and be that big and strong that means there are some animal and human animal people that have bodies like those veggorillas. I’m one of those plant gorging apes for sure, for now.

Certainly adopting a vegetarian, even vegan, lifestyle lowers my carbon footprint, but let that not prevent people from eating a modest meat diet from time to time if their body needs it. We can still vastly reduce the wasteful farming and green house gas flatulating herds of livestock to help Mother Earth if people simply approach their eating habits in a balanced and intelligent way. Most affluent people simply eat too much, including those who graze like rabbits as proud veggie folk.

IWB: How has vegetarianism contributed to your physical, mental, and spiritual well-being?

JH: I’m not a vegetarian anymore. I am now a Vegan who eats two eggs a day. (Thank you, Chickens of the world!) As I said in your last question, I definitely grew stronger and less slickly and prone to immune weakness after becoming a veggie guy. The question is, was this improvement this solely from becoming a Vegetarian at 25?

It is hard to know because at 25 I also went to India, became initiated as a Swami in the Neo-Sannyasin “non-tradition” of Osho. Before this, I started meditating. Therefore, since I like what chickens make, we have a chicken-or-the-egg Zen koan here. Did the diet make me a meditator, or did the meditation make me a vegetarian?

There have been great mystics and meditators that have not been vegetarians, so one must wonder? Also, psychosomatic issues might equally have caused the chronic problems I had with my upper and lower GI until I stopped eating meat. Osho’s active meditation techniques and encounter groups put me on the fast track of letting go 25 years of repressed emotions, fears and judgments. We hold things in our bodies.

Osho says, “start with the body” in meditation. It sure worked for me. Does therefore my vegetarianism-cum-veganism become a happy extra to this cleansing? Did my psychosomatic bouts of intestinal blockage end because I stopped eating hamburgers? On the other hand, was it the rebirthing session that got me in contact with the life in Napoleon’s army in 1812, at the Battle of Borodino? I received an artillery shell splinter in the gut while on my horse directing a corps of French cavalry into a ravine for cover from cannon in a large Russian breastwork that was rolling my troupers and their horses over like bowling pins for two hours. When wounded in the gut, I calmed my horse. Everyone around me watched as I yelled “beau feu!” and dropped dead.

Reincarnation studies show that people seem to carry health issues related to traumas in past lives. Once I saw how I died on the battlefield, I never had intestinal “infortitude” ever since (I’m in my 54th year in this body). Was it the veggie diet or was it breaking the unconscious psychosomatic connection a past life bowel injury that killed?

IWB: Would you say eating this way contributes greatly to your mediation practice and your ability to foretell future events?

JH: I heard Osho say that vegetarianism makes one on the path more esthetic, less gross and dense. My life path experiences would tend to agree with him; however, if at some point this body should need animal products beyond chicken eggs we will put that theory to the test.

I am very surprised how good I feel after I stopped eating dairy products. I was a major cheese eater as a vegetarian, by the way. I do not see myself going back to cheese or meat in the foreseeable future, but one must listen to the body, as it always needs new things. Osho has a meditation for “talking to the body” which I find very helpful.

IWB: Are there any particular types of food, plant-based or otherwise, that can impede your abilities?

JH: Weed. Alcohol. “Silly”-sybens perhaps, although every time in my youth when I was lining up to try them I would practice a week of cleansing my body for the best initiatory event. My friends, though, could not wait and consumed them before the week was out.

It all depends. These vegetarian “foods” can aid one, loosen one up, give one a glimpse but a glimpse does not a lifetime of bliss or augury make. For that you can’t knock it back, toke or mushroom your self 24/7 over seventy years like Timothy Leary, who I saw a few months before he died, sitting to the side of the book store area of a Seattle Whole Life Expo in the 1990s to which I was invited to lecture.

My eyes were pulled to regard this spent and wrinkled candy wrapper of a man, shrunk in his chair. I did not even recognize him at first. It was a visceral moment. Our eyes met. Mine must have conveyed wordlessly the feeling of concern for and a marveling at how this stranger looked physically and spiritually spent. This impression registered in reflection in his eyes and he cowered. Then it dawned in a flash who it was I had regarded in the gap of no-thought was Timothy Leary.

I turned away, embarrassed to have stared, but not sorry to have felt a truth conveyed innocently through me, to him.

Drugs had destroyed Timothy Leary in the name of artificial enlightenment.

You have to find the inner high free of all chains or ticklers for the body-mind.

I mean, what inebriate was available to my consciousness before I was born? What will be available to imbibe when this body-mind imbiber is ash?

The fundamental question is, “who” is having the high? Who is not having a high?

Any dependence on something through the body for expanded consciousness is a path to addiction. There are far more subtle and profound addictions from which we all suffer. For instance, the identification with body-mind and emotions that leads us repeatedly into a cycle of lives lived in ego’s Misery-field.

Food for thought? Or, is the answer something untouched by any food or thought?

IWB: Edgar Cayce was a vegetarian who advocated eating vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds, at least 1/3 of it raw [uncooked] in any diet type. Are there other prophets, past or present, that you are aware of, who embrace[d] a vegetarian/vegan dietary lifestyle?

JH: Well, I met a few like J. Krishnamurti or Yogi Bhajan and sat at the feet of one for many years, such as Osho, who were all vegetarians. Osho never considered himself a prophet but his predictions are quite stunning and far-reaching.

IWB: Any who embrace a raw food diet?

JH: Not that I’m aware of personally. (Isn’t it good that you can’t hear plants scream?)

Actually, I do feel them go through their own anguish when they are harvested. I experienced plant life’s silent scream working on a truck farm and as a lumberjack cutting down juniper trees in my youth. Now I like talking to plants and trees before I harvest them. I am reminded of the Zen master who used to be a woodcutter. He would walk through the forest and ask the trees which one was ready to come down. When he got the appropriate impressed “answer”, he took out his axe.

In the future, even Vegetarians, Vegans and Raw-fooders will become more meditative and commune with their plants before they slaughter them. They will feel the death as well as the life and the spirit of the food they harvest. You cannot know life without equally feeling death at the same time.

In the distant future, in the Age of Capricorn, human beings will transcend the food chain altogether and attain their nutrients direct from the sun.

IWB: Nostradamus’ lifelong passions were writing and culinary delights. Edgar Cayce enjoyed photography, and I read he was a Sunday school teacher. What are your passions and hobbies?

JH: Running, f**king, eating good food, drinking good wine and aperitifs.

Dancing in a trance, sitting doing nothing (a luxury these days), singing, laughing, writing music, playing a cow in a musical or the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood (a Children’s Opera). Yesterday I crashed the Island County WA parade running in my blue shorts, tank top, and silver running shoes with bouncing green twinkle shamrock entennae clipped to my head. I ran a quarter mile ahead of the parade receiving the accolades of the waiting crowd, sometimes apologizing for budget cuts constituting my run as the parade this year. Laughter and joy was had by all as a crowning “clowning” warmup for a wonderful parade.

Other loves?

Love, for one.

Then there is a love of all kinds of music. I write my 15 books and counting often listening to classical music, though I will listen to anything that captures what it is truly trying to convey, whether it is Wagner’s Ring or Nirvana’s “Heart Shaped Box” or Vangelis’ “Antarctica” or provocative CDs such as “Enigma”. I can start the day playing Michael Jackson and end up withAlanis Morissette and Radiohead. I can dance to Grateful Dead and am a big fan of Dead can Dance.

Hobbies? I used to be a pretty good miniature ship builder of museum quality boats. I was once a master painter of miniature figurines. I also used to paint canvases in oils. I love how turpentine changes the smells and tastes of everything. Ever since 2005, I apply these painting talents to painting on bigger canvases called the interiors and exteriors of houses as a painter. (Writing is a calling. Anyone who thinks they will get rich being a freelance writer, might as well believe they can get rich being a schoolteacher. It is a passion and a calling to be a person of wordcraft with a message.

IWB: In your book, Nostradamus: A Life and Myth, there are many references throughout the book about one of his favorite passions – culinary delights. Tell us about his interest in the culinary arts and what type of food he loved to make.

JH: South French passions for Mediterranean cuisine go back more than a millennium as Nostradamus’ writings show. He had a passion for all kinds of foods, recipes for salads (liberal in their use of rose petals and wine). His chief culinary concern was the science of fruit preservatives. In this following passage from my biography on the prophet Nostradamus: A Life and Myth are examples of how this wandering apothecary, physician and Anthony Bourdain of the 16th century, had “no reservations” as a chef on a pilgrimage around France, Spain and Italy, gathering recipes that found themselves in his travelogue on the trail of medicine, cosmetics and food recipes:

We might follow a trail of bitter cherries left in passages of Traité des fardemens et confitures to mark some places passed. Nostradamus was obsessed with the sweet desires of the stomach—in particular, finding ever better ways to cook up fruit preserves of bitter black cherries of “the most delectable taste, which will keep for a long while.” In a rare moment of owning to where he had been, Nostradamus on the trail of the perfect black cherry jelly, says he had “seen it made in Toulouse, Bordeaux and [La] Rochelle.” Toulouse, the district seat of the Inquisition, seems an unlikely place to have been seen in 1539 [the year before they had "summoned" him for examination for questionable healing practices]. After Bordeaux he might have ridden north to La Rochelle, but another written extract could point his mule south, abandoning France altogether to hide out for an extended period among the black cherry confectioners and sweetmeat makers of Valencia, Spain:

I have often seen preserved things from Valencia, which were extraordinarily good … Their sugar is inferior [to] ours, but they are more skilled in the art of preservation. The same is true of their sweet meats in the manner in which they finish them, for when the sugar has been thoroughly absorbed and all bad and harmful moisture has been removed, they completely get rid of this sugar (which has become blackened through repeated boiling) and use a very beautiful one, which then makes the confectionery exceptionally attractive and excellent.

Excerpt from

Nostradamus: A Life and Myth, page 86.

IWB: Did he have a favorite food recipe?

JH: Beyond black bitter cherries? It seemed he liked best whatever he was engaged in preserving, whether it as pumpkin sauce to cool fevers and have a very pleasant taste, or taking bitter oranges into a sugar preserve, or honey preserving walnuts, or making a concoction called “boiled wine.” He wrote about a green ginger recipe originating from Mecca, Saudi Arabia. His quince jelly preserve endorsed by the Papal Legate of Avignon made him famous. His tastes seemed to mix the bitter with the sweet, though he also advised readers how to make candies and marzipan.

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: What fruits or vegetables are your favorites, least favorite and why?

JH: I can’t eat much fruit as it makes me too acidic, but I do like bananas, strawberries and blackberries and red wines (grapes).

I do eat nearly all vegetables. My favorites are broccoli, red onions, garlic, and mushrooms. My least favorite: Okra from India. It used to be eggplant too but I do love the way Punjabis make it.

IWB: What’s the one thing about you few people know?

JH: Nice try. If I tell you, too many people will then know it. Let us keep that to the chosen few. A man of mystery is far more intriguing, is he not?

IWB: If you could be or do anything else what would that be?

JH: A full-time composer of music. I wish I had the time and the financial backing to compose and conduct the many symphonies, concertos, symphonic poems and songs that play with full instrumentation in my head. I fear that I will be the only one to enjoy them if life is not much longer than the next moment.

I am bringing a few of these pieces into the world right now through the help of a dear friend, Talia, who is a composer and violinist who once played with Van Morrison in his “Into the Music” CD and was one time the kid who played violin with Jack on the Jack Benny Show.

IWB: What one word would you use to describe yourself?.

JH: No-knowing…

IWB: Where and what was your most memorable raw food meal?

JH: At the most recent Conscious Life Expo in LA, I lived three times a day on the Vegan wraps of food vendors with a café in Redondo Beach. They are called “Leaf Organics“. Go there if you can. They are the Mecca of vegan wraps! Leaf Organics! Yumm!! They used big broad leafs like burrito wraps. I still don’t know exactly what they put in there to make it so good. Who thinks when the thoughts drop in the no-mind of munch?

IWB: What is the most amusing response you’ve experienced or reaction you’ve received when you told someone you are a prophet scholar?

JH: I don’t remember. So, I guess it will have to be next response-reaction.

IWB: Looking forward, do you see a growing interest in vegetarianism/veganism?

JH: Yes indeed. To use a plant metaphor, it will be “grass roots” in nature until the emergency of food sustainability coming in the next decade forces a lot of people to get off the agra-meat machine. Ecological stresses caused by such high waste farming will become unprofitable.

Thank you John.

Raw Epicurean offers two copies of John Hogue’s book Nostradamus: A Life and Myth, and one [1] 25.00 gift certificate to Whole Foods Markets. To be eligible to win one of these three wonderful gifts, simply answer this question:

What fruits or vegetables are your favorites, least favorite and why?

One entry per person, please.

The drawing for this giveaway will take place Saturday, September 26th Thursday, October 1, 2009. I will use an online random number picker, my favorite tool to choose the winning participants. I will contact the winner’s via email and write an announcement in the comment section of this post.

Thank you in advance and best of luck for the drawing.

Visit Hogue Prophecy to direct download his ebooks and purchase his books: Nostradamus: A Life and Myth and others. Also, visit his site to read his amazing predictions for each year, and his yearly almanacs. Note: On November 27th, 2009, he will release his predictions for 2010.

Listen to his interviews and talks on Coast to Coast AM.

View documentaries on The History Channel featuring John Hogue and The Nostradamus Effect.

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Brendan Brazier, who was named one of the 25 Most Fascinating Vegetarians by VegNews magazine, is a professional Ironman triathlete, author, speaker, entrepreneur, and health and wellness advocate.

First and foremost Brendan is a passionate athlete with a desire to excel. Through his extensive research and personal experience, he has narrowed down one of the key elements to becoming a high performance athlete. That key element is diet, and not just any diet, but a plant-based whole food diet. He knows what he speaks of, he lives it, and is one of a hand full of professional athletes whose diet is 100 percent plant-based, 80-85% of his diet consists of raw vegan foods.

Brendan’s dietary acumen spans beyond the athletic arena. He shares his knowledge as a sought-after speaker and presenter, and has addressed US Congress on Capitol Hill on the topic of improving personal health through better diet.

Among his other accomplishments, Brendan was nominated in 2006 for the Manning Innovation Award, Canada’s most prestigious award for innovation, has authored Thrive – The Vegan Nutrition Guide, and the soon to be released Thrive Fitness – The Vegan-Based Training Program. He is the creator of a product line of high quality whole food plant-based nutritional products called Vega.

In this interview, Brendan shares with us his projects and upcoming events, gives advice to aspiring athletes and those of us who simply work out to keep fit, tells us about his most memorable competition, and more.

Enjoy the Interview…

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: Tell us a bit about your background. What inspired you to become a professional Ironman triathlete?

Brendan Brazier: I first got into the sport of triathlon when I was 15. At the time, I started running to be a better hockey player. My skating wasn’t very good. So I thought if I could be fitter, I could be a better hockey player. I found that I really enjoyed running and started taking running really seriously. I did too much too fast and got injured so I started riding a bike to allow my running injury to heal and discovered I really liked cycling. Then I thought if I could learn how to swim I could do a triathlon. I fell in love with triathlon and the lifestyle. If I could make a career out of this and turn professional that would be ideal. I started training really hard and realized I would need every advantage I could get to reach an elite level. So I got a hold of the top athletes training programs and compared them to the average athlete and what really surprised me was that they were basically the same. So there was another factor that made some athletes great and others average. My goal became to find out what that was, which was recovery or the rate at which your body can repair itself. I found that 80% of recovery could be attributed to nutrition. I knew I could train more and improve faster if I recovered quicker. And I could recover quicker if I ate high quality food.

IWB: Which part of the competition do you enjoy the best – swimming, cycling, or running?

BB: Running. It has always fit into my lifestyle best. I can train wherever I am; whether on the road or at home.

IWB: What do you enjoy most and least about being a triathlete?

BB: Most: the training. Every day, I get to do what I love. Least: the time it takes. Triathlon training doesn’t leave much time for anything other than training making it difficult to fit in other projects.

IWB: Do you experience nervous jitters before a competition?

BB: No, I believe that if you run through all the steps of the race and training in your head, there’s no room for jitters. If you feel well-prepared, you can be confident you’re going to have a good race. I make sure I’ve taken all the steps I can to prepare and even have a backup plan like a spare tire for my bike or extra food and water just in case. Plus, if you enjoy what you’re doing the whole experience doesn’t seem as daunting and you’re less likely to have nerves.

IWB: Which is your most memorable competition, and why?

BB: My most memorable race was Ironman Canada in Penticton in 2001. It was the most “mental” race I’ve ever done. About 100km into the bike, I was in 6th place and started having back spasms. They continued throughout the remainder of the ride and into the run. This race was a real test of mental focus. I had to summon all my strengths to get past the pain and focus on the race. I ended up finishing a respectable 11th overall but really took away the biggest lesson from the power of mind over matter.

IWB: What one word would you use to describe yourself?

BB: Persistent.

IWB: Aside from being a professional triathlete, what are some things that bring you the biggest joy?

BB: I get to do what I love every day. I get to travel around the country and share information about plant-based nutrition and sustainability. I meet amazing people and open many eyes to the benefits of eating this way.

IWB: If you could be or do anything else what would you be or do?

BB: I’m doing what I love.

IWB: Tell us why you chose being vegan over being vegetarian, and when and why you decided to transition to a raw vegan diet?

BB: I initially set out to discover the best diet to improve my performance as an athlete. As I looked at the training plans of pro athletes, I discovered that the actual training didn’t vary that much from person to person so next I looked at their diets. It seemed that nutrition had a significant impact on recovery time – then I began to research foods that would improve recovery. My research directed me to a nutrient-dense vegan diet. Once I switched to a plant-based whole food diet it hasn’t changed a lot. I’ve included more raw than I started off doing initially. I’d say I eat 80 or 85 percent raw now. When I’m on the road, I don’t have the time or facility to prepare the food that’s in the meal plan, so I graze even more. I’m fortunate that I’m at a lot of health food stores a lot of the time so I can get good food.

IWB: Are there any particular plant-based foods that help you to prepare and/or acclimate yourself to different weather conditions [warm, cold] before a competition?

BB: When I first started eating largely raw I found it a bit hard in the winter—in Vancouver, it was raining for months on end. But after going through a couple more springs and summers of eating raw, when winter came I developed the desire to eat less cooked foods. I wasn’t forcing myself to eat raw, I just ate whatever I felt like if it was whole, plant-based foods.

IWB: Do you enjoy preparing raw recipes? If so, what do you enjoy making?

BB: Since I’m on the road a lot, I don’t have as much time as I would like to prepare to prepare raw recipes. But when I am home, I like to make some of the raw energy bar recipes in The Thrive Diet.

IWB: Some athletics venture into the culinary world by becoming restauranteurs. Would you considering opening a restaurant?

BB: No, while I think it would be great to have a place where people could get healthy, convenient food while on the go, I think my energies are better focused on creating new Vega products and letting others share their expertise in the restaurant business.

IWB: What was your most memorable raw food meal?

BB: The white nectarine I just ate was pretty good! I like such a variety of food, I really can’t choose just one.

IWB: Besides eating a plant-based diet and as much of it locally grown as possible, what others things do you do to help sustain the health of our environment?

BB: While on tour and through my books, I’m able to spread the word about plant-based nutrition and the impact that this choice can have on the environment. Sharing this information is one of the biggest way I can do my part to help sustain the health of our environment.

IWB: Do you have a hobby? If so, tell us about it.

BB: Honestly, napping! I don’t have a lot of time for hobbies but when I do get a little down time – a nap always sounds good!

IWB: What is the one thing about you few people know?

BB: I think I’m a “what you see is what you get” kind of person.

IWB: Tell us about your products line Vega?

BB: I had been making a blender drink since I was 15. I found plant-based sources for complete protein, B12, iron, calcium and omega-3 fatty acids, blended them into a drink that I had after workouts and it made me feel exceptionally well. As a result, I was able to start my pro career earlier then the other athletes I was training with – even though we were doing the same exact things. I teamed up with Sequel Naturals, makers of ChlorEssence and MacaSure plant supplements, to produce a convenient version of this blender drink that was the first product in the Vega line. Vega now has a line of plant-based, nutrient-dense whole food products including drink formulas, snack bars and oil blends that are all-natural, gluten, wheat, soy and allergen-free products.

IWB: What is your favorite Vega product?

BB: I would say Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer. It was the first product I created and it’s how I start every day.

IWB: If there is one important tip or piece of advice you could offer an aspiring athlete or the everyday person who works to keep fit, what would it be?

BB: Find what you love to do and make the most of it. If you find a form of fitness that you love, you are more likely to stick to it and won’t need to force yourself to get out for your workout.

IWB: Are there any projects and/or events that you are involved in that are coming down the pipeline?

BB: My speaking tour starts up again this month. First, off to Philadelphia, then up to New York and Boston and later this year, on to California and Florida. Dates are available at vega community. My follow up book, Thrive Fitness is due to release in the US in January 2010. I recently released a free online program called Thrive in 30, which shares videos and emails about optimal health through plant-based nutrition. I wanted to make the information provided in my book accessible by all; I realized that the people who need this information most are the least likely to buy the book so by posting online anyone can learn about plant-based nutrition. We’ve also created an online community Vega Community, which provides a supportive online community for anyone on or interested in learning more about plant-based nutrition.

IWB: Is there anything that you’d like to add, any closing thoughts?

BB: Thanks for doing the interview.

Brendan has generously offered a copy of his book Thrive – The Vegan Nutrition Guide to one lucky Raw Epicurean reader. He and Sequel Naturals have also offered Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer Snack Pack Singles in four delicious flavors [chocolate, berry, natural, and vanilla chai] for another Raw Epicurean reader. Thank you Brendan and Sequel Naturals team!

Raw Epicurean also offers a copy of Brendan’s book Thrive – The Vegan Nutrition Guide to one reader.

To be eligible to win one of these awesome gifts, simply answer this question:

What type of workout do you incorporate into your healthy lifestyle?

One entry per person, please.

The drawing for this giveaway will take place Thursday, September 10th, and I will use my favorite random number picker to choose the winning participants. The winning participants will be contacted via email and an announcement will be posted in the comment section of this post.

Thank you and best of luck to all who participate.

More about Brendan Brazier

Visit Brendan’s website

Purchase Vega Products

Join Brendan Brazier’s free, 30-day online wellness program to achieve optimal health and vitality. Sign up now at Thrive in 30

Join the Vega Community

Stay connected with Brendan and Team Vega via

Vega Facebook Community

VegaTeam on Twitter

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Karyn Calabrese is a long-standing pioneer in the health and holistic industry who’s journey and many accomplishments are inspiring. Based in Chicago, she runs a multifaceted business. She is one of the healthy food entrepreneurs with two successful restaurants: Karyn’s Raw Cafe – serves raw food, has a juice bar and store, Karyn’s Cooked – serves cooked vegan fare, and she also offers Karyn’s at Home – a weekly meals program delivery.

Her other endeavors include the business of beauty and self-care. Karyn is owner of a day spa, Karyn’s Inner Beauty Center, and she offers a bi-monthly detox program that serves to help heal and balance the body, mind, and spirit.

Thirty years ago she used raw foods and detoxification to heal herself of allergies, skin problems, fatigue and other ailments and never looked back.

I totally believe it. Take one look at her, she is gorgeous, and her ageless beauty shows she lives what she teaches.

In this interview, Karyn speaks about her bi-monthly detox program and classes, tells us her inspiration for committing to this holistic lifestyle, who inspires her as a chef and in business, and shares an amusing behind-the-scene kitchen story, and much more.

Enjoy the interview.

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: When did you discover veganism? Raw food?

Karyn Calabrese: I discovered veganism 35 years ago and Raw Foods 30 years ago.

IWB: What inspired you to commit to eating this way?

KC: I was initially inspired by my mother who sought alternative means to heal her cancer. My mother didn’t win her battle but I was determined not to go down the same road as the other women in my family who died young and overweight. I stayed committed to this lifestyle through the influence of my teacher, Dr. Ann Wigmore, who is the founder of the raw foods movement in our time. Eventually my body evolved naturally to crave healthy raw foods through cleansing and detoxification and the benefits of eating this way made the journey much easier.

IWB: In the beginning, was it easy for you to stay on a raw food diet?

KC: I never set out to stay on raw foods. It was a natural evolution for my body. When I first started there were not a lot of people doing this, no books or raw food restaurants like there are today. I started a support group in my home for like-minded people which eventually grew into the business I have today.

IWB: I’ve heard that some people find it challenging to maintain a raw food diet during cold winter months. How do you get through Chicago’s cold winters on a raw diet?

KC: Once your body finds balance from cleansing and detoxing, you don’t have to try as hard to stay warm (or cool in the summer). The body is more comfortable at any temperature. Remember we are animals and we are supposed to be able to navigate all types of weather in the coats we were born with.

For people just starting out I recommend adding warming spices like ginger and cayenne pepper to foods and also putting a little cayenne in socks and shoes will help.

IWB: Does your family also eat a high level raw vegan foods?

KC: Some of them do. My children were raised vegetarian then vegan and as teenagers and young adults they went on to choose their own lifestyles as all children should be allowed to do. Today my daughter is probably 65% raw and 85% vegan. I try to never judge or change people who are not ready to change, including my family. There is so much more to love about a person than the way they eat.

IWB: Who inspires you as a chef; as a business person?

KC: I am inspired by my family and my customers who respond to my food and challenge me to create new exciting foods in my restaurants. I love the food at Pure Food and Wine in New York and am inspired by their creativity. I feel we all have an innate ability to create in the kitchen. We really don’t need outside influence if we tap into our own instincts.

As a business person I am inspired by my husband.

IWB: What are some of your favorite kitchen gadgets?

KC: Dehydrator, food processor, vita-mix blender

IWB: Tell us one of your most amusing behind-the-scene kitchen stories?

KC: A few years ago I was invited to Jamaica with the top ten raw chefs around the country. When it was my turn to teach, the chef before me was being a bit of a diva and would not let me use the kitchen equipment for my presentation. I had to teach the whole class in pretend, mimicking the noises of the machines. It of course didn’t go as I had planned but people were laughing and having a good time. The lesson I learned from that experience is that in any kitchen, especially a raw foods kitchen, things aren’t always going to go as planned so you need to make the best of the circumstances you are given otherwise it won’t be fun anymore and you’ll be more likely to give up on the whole thing.

IWB: If you could ask three famous people, who aren’t raw, to Karyn’s Raw Cafe, whom would you invite?

KC: Oprah (not because of her fame, but because it would help her), President Obama (his knowledge of raw foods could help the country and maybe influence health care policy), Rush Limbaugh (not only could this help his health problems, but as someone who influences a lot of people, it could help him to be more balanced and compassionate)

IWB: You offer a 4-week bimonthly detox program and classes. What are some of your tips and suggestions on daily detoxing?

KC: I don’t believe detoxing is something people should do daily forever. I believe they should pick a period of time to devote to the detoxing process and see how their bodies react. The rest of the time they should eat comfortably and try to incorporate some healthy habits into their routine. If you try to be too strict with yourself all the time I think there’s a bigger chance you’ll give up.

IWB: Name the top 3 foods that you recommend eating frequently to aid in detoxification?

KC: Green super foods (like my Green Meal Powder) added to a smoothie or shake, fermented foods like sauerkraut, and sprouts.

IWB: I’ve read that Karyn’s is the longest standing raw foods restaurant in the Midwest. Congratulations! That is a wonderful achievement and great testament of the demand for healthy dining. Has the raw food scene evolved significantly, particularly in Chicago, since you first went into the restaurant business?

KC: Actually it’s the longest standing raw foods restaurant in the country! Something I’m very proud of, especially since we’re in the Midwest. The raw food scene has evolved tremendously in the past few years. There are many groups and other restaurants involved now. Many more people are aware of the benefits of raw foods and curious to give it a try. I believe education and non-judgment is the key to fostering the raw food movement anywhere.

IWB: If you could be or do anything else what would you be or do?

KC: I would be a professional ballerina

IWB: What one word would you use to describe yourself?

KC: Compassionate

IWB: What’s the one thing about you few people know?

KC: I really dislike talking about food and raw foodism outside of the restaurant and work related events. When people first get into this stuff, they tend to make it too much a part of their lives and it ends of defining them. I stay sane by keeping a lot of balance in my life and that means have many interests and activities that are not food related.

IWB: Are there any projects and event that you are involved in that are coming down the pipeline?

KC: My book is almost finished! Also, I’m expanding my product line and working to get it in stores around the country. I’m planning to open another cooked vegan restaurant and expand our web based business and marketing to continue to spread health and raw foods to as many people as I can.

IWB: What is your biggest joy, your accomplishment[s] that most make you proud in helping people improve their lives.

KC: I’m most proud of the success of my detox classes. When I started out 25 years ago I had 7 people in a class. Now we get between 100-300 people every other month. I’m also proud of the diversity of people who detox with me from schoolteachers to nurses, doctors, lawyers, and judges. We get people of all ages, races and economic backgrounds.

IWB: Is there anything that you’d like to add, any closing thoughts?

KC: It’s so important not to make food the whole focus of your life and to balance physical, emotional and spiritual aspects as well. Compassion for your fellow humans and service to your planet are more important than I can express. I end all things with, “If you don’t take care of your body the most magnificent machine you’ll ever be given, where will you live.” Take care. Love, Karyn

Thank you Karyn. :-)

Karyn has generously offered two [2] great products – Karyn’s Green Meal Powder and Karyn’s Enzymes, and she has included a Karyn’s tote bag for one lucky Raw Epicurean reader. Thank you!

Attention Chicago-based readers!

Raw Epicurean offers one [1] 25.00 gift certificate to Karyn’s Raw Cafe. This offer is exclusive to our Chicago based readers. Please write “Chicago” or indicate that you live in the Chicago area when you comment. Thank you.

To be eligible to win one of these wonderful gifts, simply answer this question:

Who inspires you to be the best you can be?

One entry per person, please.

The drawing for this giveaway will take place Tuesday, August 25th, and I will use my favorite random number picker to choose the winning participants. The winning participants will be contacted via email and an announcement will be posted in the comment section of this post.

Thank you in advance and best of luck to all who participate.

More about Karyn Calabrese

Visit Karyn’s website

Current events at Karyn’s Raw Cafe

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There are so many wonderful people in the raw food community who contribute and share their knowledge to help others with their quest for better health, and Angela Elliott is one of these people. She is a true holistic foodie at heart who has create Raw Nut-Free Cuisine, has extended her love of good nutritious food to the canine world by creating Raw Vegan Dog Food, and is also the author of several books, including Alive in Five, a book Raw Epicurean is happy to offer as part of the accompanying giveaway. These few mentions only scratch the surface of her many talents.

She is well versed and emersed in the world of natural wellness and all thing life-enhancing. I am impressed with her deep levels of knowledge and inspired by her beautiful spirit and generous nature to share and help others.

Angela and I first connect via Twitter and have since become well acquainted. The more I learn about her, the more I want to learn and if you are not already familiar with her, please allow me to introduce introduce Angela Elloitt to you.

In this interview, Angela shares with us the people and events that have shaped her raw food journey, her feeling on intuitive eating, her favorite culinary herbs, how this dietary lifestyle has contributed to her overall well-being, and some interesting things most of us probably didn’t know about her.

Enjoy the Interview…

Ingrid Weithers-Barati: When did you discover and embrace a raw food lifestyle?

Angela Elliott: I actually discovered raw food back when I was 15 1/2 when I was working in a health food restaurant. I learned all about nutrition and raw foods and all about Ann Wigmore, Dr. Walker, and all the other amazing health pioneers all before the age of 18. I didn’t care too much for the raw food at the time, but loved juicing. I have been juicing every day since I was 15 1/2, because that stuck with me and it was something I truly enjoyed and still do. I fully embraced the raw food lifestyle over 10 years ago and have never looked back. It brings me great joy!

Ingrid: What do you find is the biggest benefit of embracing a raw vegan lifestyle?

Angela: Looking and feeling my best 24/7!

Ingrid: What people or events have most influenced your journey as a raw foodist?

Angela: I am a trained culinary chef, so tend to prefer those in the raw community, who make amazing food. I love Sarma and I love Matthew Kenney. Matthew is just the sweetest guy and I love his creativity too! I have to say that no one influences me in terms of making food, as all the recipes I use are my own. I just really resonate with those who are creative and those who enjoy what they do and it shows in their work.

Ingrid: I’ve learned that you are a well-versed natural wellness practitioner who has studied Herbology and also Traditional Chinese Medicine [TCM]. Which five culinary herbs are your favorites and why?

Angela: My favorites are Cilantro, Sage, Oregano, Tarragon, and Coriander. Each one imparts a unique flavor based on whatever dish I am working on, and lately, I have found, I can add them all to a dish for even more fun! Each one has medicinal properties and as an herbalist, I am very attracted to using healing herbs and spices when I prepare food.

Ingrid: You are also an intuitive healer. What are your thoughts on intuitive eating?

Angela: Intuitive eating ought to be something that everyone practices. If everyone listened to their inner voice, there would be no confusion out there! I often go out in my garden and am led to just the right thing based on how I am feeling at that particular moment.

Ingrid: How has raw food made a contribution to your physical, mental, and spiritual well-being?

Angela: I have been very spiritual since I was about 3 years old, so energetically raw food fits nicely with spirituality, like salt and pepper. My physical and mental well-being are enhanced greatly with raw food. I think clearly, I feel like I can do anything and be anything I choose in this life. I love eating raw foods!!

Ingrid: What are some of your favorite hobbies?

Angela: I love gardening, horseback riding (although I rarely ever get to go), I adore playing yu-gi-oh, and I am a huge lover of the great outdoors.

Ingrid: What are some [other] things about you that few people know?

Angela: I have been an environmentalist for most of my life, I live totally ahimsa (which means I harm no living thing), I work with animals, I teach reiki, reflexology, Jin Shin, I am a Paramedical Aesthetician, Master Herbalist, Nutritionist, A Homeopath, I used to be a body builder, I also make gem elixirs and flower essence remedies. I invented raw vegan dog food, The Celestialwich, and Nut-free cuisine. I home-schooled my son his whole life Waldorf, and I breast fed my son until he was 5 1/2 years old, when he magically weaned himself. I have been all around the world twice, I lived overseas a lot, I have never shopped at a regular grocery store, I never use bags, I always bring my own, and I have been living green for most of my life! I almost died twice! The list goes on and on, but I had better stop here!

Ingrid: Who are your mentors and who inspires you as a chef?

Angela: My Mentor is Lou Corona, actually he is my hero! I could never ever get tired of working with him! My mother inspired me when I was growing up. She is a French Culinary Chef.

Ingrid: What are some of your favorite raw recipes?

Angela: Junk Food Salad, Apple Pie, and Screamy Chocolate Fantastic all from Alive in Five. YUM!

Ingrid: What are some of your favorite kitchen gadgets?

Angela: Cuisinart ice cream maker, vitamix, and my cuisinart food processor.

Ingrid: Tell us one of your most amusing behind-the-scene kitchen stories?

Angela: All of my behind the scenes kitchen experiences are a wild adventure in my TINY kitchen. One time I ruined a gorgeous and QUITE EXPENSIVE superfood smoothie, because in the middle of making it, I received a phone call and totally forgot that what was in the blender was the superfood smoothie and I was supposed to make a salad dressing for a client, so without looking, I added salad dressing ingredients to the superfood smoothie!! hahaha :-) Anyway, that went in my compost!

Ingrid: Is there any advice you would like to share with aspiring raw foodists?

Angela: Follow your heart!

Ingrid: If you could be or do anything else what would you be or do?

Angela: A violinist or a conductor or both!!

Ingrid: What one word would you use to describe yourself?

Angela: Enthusiastic

Ingrid: Are there any projects and event that you are involved in that are coming down the pipeline?

Angela: Yes! I am currently writing 4 more books. I have two books that are at the editors now, so can’t wait for those to come out!

Ingrid: What is your biggest joy, your accomplishment[s] that most make you proud in helping people improve their lives?

Angela: I have helped a lot of people and animals get well and I feel blessed to have been able to work with them.

Ingrid: Is there anything that you’d like to add, any closing thoughts?

Angela: I think that preventing disease ought to be a priority in this country.

Ingrid: Thank you so much for being a part of Raw Epicurean and sharing with us Angelina. :-)

Angela: Thank you so much for having me!!!

I am happy to offer a copy of Angela’s book Alive in 5 as a gift to three [3] Raw Epicurean readers. To be eligible to win a copy of her book, simply answer this question:

What do you do or aspire to do to help people improve their life as well as improve your own?

One entry per person, please. The drawing for this giveaway will take place Thursday evening at 9pm PST on August 6th.
I will use my favorite online random number picker to choose the winning participants. The winning participants will be contacted via email and an announcement of the drawing will be posted at the right sidebar, under the heading “Announcements”. Thank you in advance and best of luck.

More about Angela Elliott

Visit her website She Zen Cuisine

Books by Angela
Alive in Five
The Simple Gourmet
Holiday Fare with Angela
A Diva’s Guide to Juice and Cocktails

Soon to be released books
The Decadent Gourmet
Get Naked and Wear Your Food, co written by Shannon Leone

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