We Like It Raw - Raw Food Goodness

Your New Years Health Resolutions?

If you have them, what are they?

Did you have them last year? What were they and did they work?

This weeks top forum discussions

Here are a few of the top forum discussons happening in the world of raw foods.

Best raw restaurants in NYC (Raw Food Talk)
"I know there's a bunch of them out here, but i wanna be able to go to the best, most affordable one and take my mother out there with me. Especially before this winter break is up and i head back down south for school. Any suggestions???"

Skinny rawfooders (Nature's First Law)
"I'm wondering why it is that people I know and see who are 100% raw are usually very skinny and underweight. Even myself when I was vegan and about 85% raw, I was becoming gaunt and unhealthy looking. I want to believe that this diet is the most natural and healthy, but something as simple as "looking healthy" is not always the case for the rawfooder. Does anyone know what is up with this?"

Tips for travelling raw (Raw Food Talk)
"I'm sure this as been brought up before (if so please post the link) but what are some tips when travelling and eating raw. I'm heading to Charlotte, NC soon for business and well been eating out for pretty much every meal. I'll be having dinner with the boss and coworkers a lot and I'm sure they think I'm weird enough as a vegan (at least I get some jokes about it) so any tips for keeping "low-key" will be great too. Thanks."

Tired or Detoxing? And the costs of eating raw (VegSource)
"The first two days eating this way, I felt as I normally do (which is quite good), but this morning I woke up and felt like a truck hit me—it was as if I’d eaten a very high fat meal and drank a lot of alcohol the night before, I just couldn’t get out of bed. I usually sleep from 11pm to 6 or 7am but today I didn’t wake up until 10 o’clock! I slept almost 12 straight hours last night (after almost no physical activity yesterday other than walking my dog) and I’m still very tired as I type this (it’s just a lazy sort of feeling, not a weak one). Am I doing something wrong that’s making me feel this way? Am I detoxing?"

Panexa

Ask your doctor for a reason to take it.

Todd Cooked, Todd Raw

• More before and after photos from Todd
• Todd's Raw Food Journal

"I posted a picture today that was after 17 months raw and after the "fat-free" month. My body is definitely feeling tighter and I feel more fit. This journey is so interesting in that I am always learning, my body is always adjusting and adapting. My mind also, is always becoming clearer (just when I think its as clear as can be), I am continually reaching higher levels. Its exciting in that I look forward to what the future brings. After 17 months I can definitely say, I am suffering from no deficiencies of minerals or vitamins. No protien issues, no b12 issues, no amino acid issues, no health issues...period. I am 44 years old but I definitely feel like my body is much younger. The 8 miles I run seems like a stroll in the park, especially in these beautiful New England fall days. My family has accepted the raw lifestyle. My little daughter is very careful to eat plenty of raws before she eats cooked as is my youngest son. If they ever feel sick they immediately want to go all raw until they feel better. I never have to say anything. I never forced them or tried to coerce them in anyway. It was simply being an example, a living testimony. My wife is 80-90% raw, my oldest daughter is 100% most of the time. This has been a great blessing to my entire family. By God's grace I want to stay raw for life. But I have learned, life is one day at a time."

Pure Joy: Our Raw New Year's Eve Party in NYC

If you are a reader and live in the NYC area, you have to come here!

We Like It Raw and Pure Food & Wine present: Pure Joy: Drinks, Dessert and Dance hosted at Pure Food and Wine on New Years Eve.

Pure Food and Wine will be offering regular menu items in addition to special items for the occassion. Dinner reservations will be accepted until 10pm, the kitchen will be open until 11pm. From 11pm until 3am, ‘We Like It Raw’ & the Pure Food Staff will be hosting a gathering to ring in the new year. Featuring: dancing, raw hors d'oeuvres, and an organic champagne toast at midnight.

And if you already have plans for New Year’s Evening, you are still welcome to stop by Pure Food and Wine for a quick round of Pure Mojitos or their famous and oh-so-delicious Pure Ice Cream. Now how could you resist that?

Yoga + Raw Food = No Brainer!

I love yoga, but unfortunately I only do it a few times a month. Hopefully by frequenting the following websites I'll be able to bring some presence back to my practice.

• www.welikeyoga.com: A blog focusing on the latest in yoga news, fashion and lifestyle. It's run by Tim van der Weide. The name sounds very catchy!
• www.iloveyoga.com: A place where business and yoga have united into a single entity

My research mission at a Walmart Super Center in

I'm in Valdosta, Georgia for a family reunion and a 25th Wedding Anniversary party. While I had a little down time yesterday afternoon, I decided to do hands-on research at a Walmart Super Center. I'd been recently reading that Walmart was making some interesting choices in the world of organic/natural foods and I wanted to see first hand what exactly was going on.

Not only was I surprised to see the fairly large selection of organic produce (carrots, apples, romaine lettuce, potatoes, raisins, and like 25 other things), but I was totally shocked to see Young Thai Coconuts. When I asked the produce team if they were regular sellers they said not only do they sell out quickly, but of lot of the customers purchase them by the case.

Thai Coconuts by the case in Valdosta, Georgia at a Walmart Super Center? What's next?

p.s. That doesn't mean I'm not looking forward to seeing Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price

Interview with RawGuru.com

Alex Malinsky, who runs rawguru.com, recently asked me if I'd be interested in conducting an interview for his website/newsletter. Now I'm no guru, but I thought it would be entertaining to share my crazy raw food story.

I've taken a few of my favorite questions and posted them here. For the full interview, visit rawguru.com

Q: What are some quick tips or hints for Raw newbies?

Don't identify yourself with the diet: One of the major challenges raw newbies have is getting caught up in the identity of what it means for them to be "raw". Just like an extremely materialistic person who is looking for himself in the things that he buys, many people often look for themselves in the diet they eat. "Oh, if only I could be 100% raw then all my problems would go away." Start to notice if you are looking for yourself in the diet and immediately you'll see shifts. Noticing is enough.

Discipline doesn't work: The challenge with discipline is that it is a technique to rid desire, but discipline is based on desire. When someone says, "I have discipline," what they often mean is that they are experienced at taking one desire and making it stronger than another. Not that this doesn't get the job done. In fact, discipline often does works, temporarily. However, discipline will ultimately always let us down because one day (for some people, many days) we'll have a desire that can't be trumped. Often when discipline failed me I used these two questions: 1) What do I feel must happen in order for me to be myself? 2) What do I feel has already happened that is preventing me from being myself?

Q: Do you have any major influences?

Nature Love my original raw food mentor who introduced me to the diet. David Wolfe who has been my most influential teacher when it comes to specifically raw food. Eckhart Tolle and his partner Kim Eng who helped create the context for my peace of mind to rise. Joel Odhner from Raw Life Line and Arnold of Arnold's Way who have spent hours on end speaking with me about life and abundance. Is this starting to sound like an Grammy Award speech? Sarma Melngailis from Pure Food & Wine who's shear beauty has motivated me bring raw food to the masses just for the selfish reason of having more beautiful women like her on this planet. The We Like It Raw Squad, Neel, Nirav, Deepen, & Mihir. Dr. Jubb and Dr. Cousens are great mentors too, it should be illegal to be as smart as they are.

Q: Where do you see the Raw Food movement heading?

Organic Fiber Bars Reviewed

My wonderful cousins, (Neer, Neel, and Anisha) have taken on and completed the challenge of reviewing the raw Organic Fiber Bar line by Renew Life. You can listen to their review by clicking the play button above, or read their comments below:

• Chocolate: Gets stuck in your teeth, too sweet, would eat it for $10
• Lemon: Tastes like Star-Burst, lemony fresh, would take it to school
• Cranberry: So-so, not really that good or bad, would eat it if we were hungry

Editors Note: We said Cherry in the review, but we actually mean Cranberry.

Our 10 Winners

Yesterday we were in the gift giving spirit and so we announced that the first 10 individuals who emailed us would receive a special gift to show our appreciation for their readership. It didn't take long at all for the emails to start rolling in! We are pleased to announce that the following readers will receive a oneluckyduck.com goodie bag courtesy of We Like It Raw. Packages will be mailed the first week of January.

1. Debbie M. (Solon, OH)
2. Amana C. (Dover, DE)
3. CT Townsend (San Francisco, CA)
4. F. Hall (Glendale, AZ)
5. Hema S. (Vorees, NJ)
6. Jarrett C.(Vernon, BC)
7. Deepa. S (Berkely, CA)
8. Alynn D. (Patagonia, AZ)
9. Yvette S. (Middlesex, England)
10. Mital. C (Cherry Hill, NJ)

Spacial thanks to everyone who wrote in and don't worry, this won't be the last give-a-way from the We Like It Raw Squad.